fully tuned - alfa laval · disc stack centrifuges disc stack centrifuges are ideal for a wide...

Fully tuned

Alfa Laval fish and meat processing solutions

You create the best tone when you use the right score. To

ensure the most profitable results from your fish and meat

processing operations, you need the right components

and solutions at your fingertips.

Alfa Laval helps you make just the right choices in this specialist

field – so you get the exact solutions you need. And you get the

full effect of our extensive know-how and experience.

Alfa Laval fish and meat processing solutions 3

You and your company probablyalready know Alfa Laval as a supplier ofheat exchangers and separationcentrifuges.

What you may not know, however, isthe extent and the depth of ourexperience and know-how in thisspecialist field, acquired fromdeveloping, installing and optimizingvast numbers of process solutionsthroughout the world.

Know-how in depthChoosing Alfa Laval as your suppliergives you a working partner that knowshow to get you tip-top results inproducing fish and meat by-products – because we not only focus on yourequipment, but also on optimizing allaspects of the processing operationsinvolved with your specific products.

Many companies can sell you a heatexchanger or a centrifugal separator.But Alfa Laval has the know-how andthe experience to analyze yourprocessing line as a whole – and makeconcrete, practical recommendationsthat really make a difference. In fact, itmay well be that the most cost-effective solution overall can involvesurprising new thinking, withsurprisingly profitable results.

Just dealing with individual processingsteps is often impractical and can becostly. Attempts to improve or updateone particular step may haveunexpected, unfortunate effectselsewhere in the overall process.

With Alfa Laval however, you will beable to move beyond the restraints anddrawbacks that often stem from sub-optimized components. We have theknow-how and resources to be able todeal with the wider picture, and this willnormally save you time, money andfrustration – as well as eliminating anyunpleasant surprises.

4 Alfa Laval fish and meat processing solutions

Working in harmony

Alfa Laval is much more than the well-known supplier of equipment used

in processing fish and meat by-products

To give you some ideas about howcomponents can be combined in fullyoptimized configurations, we havelisted a range of standard Alfa Lavalprocess modules on pages 14–17.

External demands are gettingtougherYour customers are constantlypresenting you with new and morestringent demands. Public authorities – both national and international –place growing numbers of restrictionson both your products and yourprocessing operations as environ-mental considerations becomeincreasingly important. At the sametime, it is crucial to operate moreefficiently as costs continue to rise.

Components or processesYou can either purchase individualcomponents, or make full use of Alfa Laval experience to help developand fine-tune your entire processingline with complete, fully optimizedprocess modules.

You will be surprised at the kinds ofbenefits you can reap from our provenexperience and what we have alreadyachieved in other similar installations.

The full pictureThe performance figures for a stand-alone unit never really give you the fullor true picture.

The easiest way to achieve the best,most profitable results in fish and meatprocessing is to make sure that all thecomponents and systems work inharmony – boosting each other’sefficiency rather than detracting from it.

Alfa Laval equipment is widely used forhandling by-products from the fish andmeat industries. Alfa Laval systems areable to process• fish and fish by-products• fish silage• fish hydrolysate• soft tissue

• trimmings

• meat hydrolysate

• bone

• poultry by-products

• blood.


But you do not need to search foranswers to all these things by yourself.Alfa Laval is the kind of working partnerthat helps you deal with the challengesin your particular business. Youroperations and the way you and yourstaff run them are, of course, unique.However, somewhere within ouractivities throughout the world, wehave probably solved similar problemsbefore – and practical experiencemakes a big difference in the fish andmeat processing industries. We arehere to help you.

Joint efforts, exceptional resultsMarine Harvest is the largest producerof farmed salmon in the world, and agood example of how joint efforts payoff in new process solutions. “Offcutsfrom the salmon processing plant nolonger go to waste, but are nowprocessed on site in a ConDec edibleoil plant,” says Andreas Kvaemer,operations manager at the MarineHarvest-owned Rygro AS in Norway.

“We produce high-quality salmon oil,and the recovered protein goes to thepig feed industry. A Conthermscraped surface heat exchangerminimizes the thermal impact of thecooking process. The ultra-shorttreatment time in the ConDec processboosts the quality of the edible oilsignificantly. Marine Harvest fish oil isunbeatable on quality, because it is sofresh,” he continues.

Operations Manager Andreas Kvaemer,Rygro AS, Norway.


In the heat of the process

Processing fish and animal raw material almost always involves

heating in some form.

Indirect heatersAs the leading company in the liquid-to-liquid heating field, Alfa Lavalproduces more than half of all the plateheat exchangers sold worldwide. Alfa Laval supplies a comprehensiverange of different types, which extendfrom plate to tubular and scraped-surface heat exchangers.

The Alfa Laval range is based onstandardized units that are easy toscale up and down in capacity. Suchstandardized solutions are highly cost-effective, compact and very efficient.

Plate heat exchangersAlfa Laval plate heat exchangers areused to control heating in a continuousflow process, where the particles arerelatively small and the tendency tofouling is medium to low. In the fishand meat processing industries, plateheat exchangers are mostly used forheating liquid mixtures that have a lowcontent of coagulated proteins.

Alfa Laval plate heat exchangers caneasily be scaled up and down to meetdifferent capacity requirements. Theyare also available in many differentmaterials to handle particularlychallenging processing tasks.

Tubular heat exchangersAlfa Laval ViscolineTM tubular heatexchangers are suitable for high-viscosity products or products thatcontain many different kinds ofparticles and thus involve a high risk of fouling.

The corrugated tube design createsturbulence within the product. Thisenhances heat transfer and ensuresuniform treatment of the product. Italso reduces fouling, resulting in longerintervals between cleaning. Alfa LavalViscoline units are also available in aspecial design that includes a dynamicscraping function to prevent fouling.

Processing fish and animal raw materialalmost always involves heating tocoagulate the protein and to releasethe fat/oil phase, and involves heatingof all the liquid phases. The productsto be heated contain varying amountsof solids as well as different particlesizes and viscosities, but must alwaysbe heated gently and efficiently.

The heating equipment needed to dothis is available in many forms. The Alfa Laval range of heating equipmentis based on both direct and indirectheating, using hot water or steam asthe heating medium. All Alfa Lavalheaters are available both as stand-alone equipment and as completemodules for pasteurization, sterilizationand heat regeneration.

Tubular heat exchanger, Viscoline Dynamic


Scraped-surface heat exchangersThe Alfa Laval Contherm scraped-surface heat exchanger is a space-saving design that fits well into anyproduction line. The unit provides easyinspection, simple operation and acomplete CIP capability that helpsmaintain product quality by reducingthe risk of contamination.

Contherm scraped-surface heatexchangers incorporate special designfeatures that make them ideal forheating high-viscosity products andproducts with large amounts ofsuspended solids – especially whererapid, gentle heating is critical due toextremely high heat transfer rates.

Direct steam heatersAlfa Laval direct steam heaters performa wide variety of challenging tasks inthe processing of raw materials thatinclude fish and meat products and inspecial applications such as heatingDissolved Air Flotation (DAF)skimmings.

Each kind of Alfa Laval direct steamheater is designed to handle a specificraw material in a continuous processflow. These heaters are customized foreach particular use, with built-intemperature control linked to live steaminjection. Such heaters are designed toprovide rapid, consistent heating and ashort holding time to ensure finalproducts of premium quality.

Plate heat exchanger


The right force in the right place

Once heated, the components in your fish or animal raw material

need to be separated.

After the fish or animal raw material hasbeen heated, some form of separationstep is normally involved. The heatedproduct features a wide variety ofdifferent solids contents, particle sizesand viscosities. The choice of the mostappropriate and efficient separationequipment depends on the nature ofthese solids and the size of theparticles.

For products that feature a high solidscontent and large particles, a decantercentrifuge is the ideal choice forliquid/solid separation. In mostapplications, the resultant liquid phaseis then processed in one or more discstack centrifuges, depending on thespecific separation requirements.

Decanter centrifugesDecanter centrifuges are ideal forseparating solids and liquids, achievingboth good clarity of the liquid phaseand low moisture content in the solid-phase discharge.

The three basic types of Alfa Lavaldecanter centrifuges feature• 2-phase operation for separating

solids and liquids• 2-phase operation for separating

solids and liquids, where the liquid is discharged via a paring disc

• 3-phase operation in which the feed product is separated into one solid phase and two liquid phases.

The latest Alfa Laval decantercentrifuges are equipped with theunique electric Direct Drive System.This automatically ensures a consistentlevel of moisture in the solids that leavethe decanter.

The Alfa Laval Direct Drive System reduces power consumption andpower loss, in addition to optimizingprocess conditions regardless ofvariations in the feed.

Decanter centrifuge

Alfa Laval advantages• Alfa Laval decanter centrifuges and

disc stack centrifuges used in food grade applications are available with all the special features necessary for such use, including a cleaning-in-place (CIP) option and an automatic system for washing the equipment on shutdown.

• Alfa Laval decanter centrifuges and disc stack centrifuges are available in a wide range of different materials in order to meet specific requirements associated with processing raw material that is abrasive or corrosive.

• The compact, modular construction of Alfa Laval separation equipment ensures that installation is both easy and relatively inexpensive.

Disc stack centrifugesDisc stack centrifuges are ideal for awide range of separation tasks thatinvolve lower solids concentrations andsmaller particle and droplet sizes. Thisapplies to both liquid/fat andliquid/solid separation. Disc stackcentrifuges separate solids and one ortwo liquid phases from each other inone single continuous process.

The Alfa Laval disc stack centrifugesused in the fish and meat processingindustries are self-cleaning separators.They enable the partial discharge ofsolids using a special system thatopens ports in the periphery of thebowl at controlled intervals in order toremove the collected solids.

Alfa Laval disc stack centrifuges areavailable in three basic types, for useas concentrators, purifiers andclarifiers.• Concentrators are normally used to

concentrate the light phase of the decanted liquid.

• Purifiers polish the fats/oils by removing residual moisture and solid fines.

• Clarifiers are used for removing small amounts of suspended solids until near-zero levels are reached.

Nozzle centrifuges are also availablewhen the handling of high levels ofsolids is required. These are normallyonly used in special processconditions.


Disc stack centrifuge


Removing water not money

The water phase from fish and meat processing applications

contains valuable soluble proteins that can be recovered.

Drying the end product is an extremelyexpensive approach. In mostprocessing operations, the energy costfor removing water either forconcentration purposes or as part ofthe production process is the largestsingle expense.

To deal with this, Alfa Laval provides acomplete range of solutions for waterremoval using both evaporation andfiltration, or combinations of these twoprocesses. These are technologies thatrequire substantially less energy thantraditional drying methods.

However, cost-effective water removalis not only a question of energy costs.It also involves the engineering expertise to combine the most efficienttechnologies and equipment for eachparticular process, taking thecustomer’s specific conditions intoaccount.

Membrane filtrationMembrane filtration is the most recentcore technology introduced by Alfa Laval. This physical filtrationprocess is based on the difference inpressure between the two sides of aspecial membrane, and is used toseparate molecules with different sizesand characteristics.

The feed is passed through amembrane system that separates itinto two streams known as thepermeate (the liquid containingparticles that have passed through themembrane) and the retentate (theconcentrated product).

Alfa Laval supplies both ultrafiltrationand reverse osmosis solutions basedon either spiral or plate-and-framemembrane filtration systems, to meetcustomers’ particular requirementsconcerning product characteristics andend-product quality.

Many benefitsThe benefits of membrane filtrationinclude low production costs, lowenergy costs, few processing steps,high yield, a high degree of selectivityand great flexibility in handling feedliquids with different specifications andfluctuating viscosity. A membranefiltration system has a high degree offlexibility due to its modular design,making it easy to expand capacity to fitcurrent needs.


AlfaVap evaporation systemsThe AlfaVap design operates on therising film principle, which makes itpossible to undertake the evaporationof even highly viscous products as wellas reaching higher concentrations thanare possible using a traditional fallingfilm or shell-and-tube evaporator.

AlfaVap cassettes feature specialcorrugated surfaces that create a highdegree of turbulence throughout thecassette, resulting in a higher heattransfer coefficient. This highturbulence and the rising film alsosubstantially reduce tendencies tofouling – resulting in longer intervalsbetween cleaning cycles.

The AlfaVap design is extremelycompact and only one third of theheight of a corresponding shell-and-tube evaporator. This means thattransport and installation costs arereduced by as much as 50%.

Meeting the need for boostersThe Alfa Laval AlfaVap can also beinstalled as a booster unit on any typeof existing evaporator to increasecapacity or reduce energyconsumption. It can also be used toreplace other heating installations,making use of the existing structures.This usually results in increasedcapacity because of the high heattransfer value of the AlfaVap cassette.

ConVapThe Alfa Laval ConVap is a compact,scraped-surface evaporator speciallydeveloped for use in the processing ofhighly viscous, sticky or chunkyproducts. The ConVap operates as thefinal evaporation stage (finisher) toachieve up to 50–80% concentrationsof solids, depending on the particularproduct.

Space counts at ConresaAt the Conresa fishmeal plant inSpain, Alfa Laval AlfaVap andAlfaCond units are used in a two-effect evaporation system. TheAlfaVap system concentrates stickwater from 12% up to 40%. “Weneeded an evaporation system thatfitted into our existing building,” saysMr Cobas. “With the uniquecompactness of the AlfaVap system,this became a natural choice. Bycontrast, a conventional falling filmshell-and-tube system would haverequired a whole new building.”

Managing Director Juan CarlosCobas, Conservos Reunidos, S.A,Spain

AlfaVap


Removing odour by condensation

The vapour from drying and evaporation processes

must be condensed so that it can be disposed of properly.

Most of the steps involved in removingwater in conjunction with fish and meatapplications include a drying andevaporation section in which water isremoved by heating. The vapourproduced here must be condensed sothat it can be disposed of undercontrolled conditions, in order to dealwith smells and other environmentalconsiderations.

In fish processing and meat rendering,condensers are often used tocondense vapour streams inconjunction with• batch cookers• continuous cookers• evaporating systems• spray dryers• direct and indirect dryers.

As a world leader in the field ofcondensers, Alfa Laval provides a fullrange of different condenser types tomeet all capacity, media and pressurerequirements.

All Alfa Laval condensers are of theindirect type. This means that there isnever any risk of contamination of thecooling water, which can thus be safelydischarged into the environment.

Depending on the specific duty, themost appropriate solution can be agasketed, cassette or fully welded typebased on either plate heat exchangeror spiral heat exchanger technology.

AlfaCondThe Alfa Laval AlfaCond is a cassettecondenser specially tailored for vacuumcondensation duties. AlfaCond exploitsthe extensive cooling surface area tothe maximum, making it possible todeal with vapours at very low pressurewithin a very compact design.

The pattern used in AlfaCond platecassettes is designed for optimalcondensation, with an asymmetricalconfiguration that features a large gapon the vapour side and a small gap onthe cooling water side. This results inmaximum heat transfer efficiency andversatility, and a minimum of fouling.

Plate condenserStandard Alfa Laval plate heatexchangers are widely used forcondensing duties requiring smallercapacities. They are often used in fullygasketed configurations, depending onthe specific application.


CompablocThe Alfa Laval Compabloc fully weldedplate heat exchanger, with no gaskets, is ideal for handling high-temperaturefluids. Compabloc units achieve peak performance in the area whereconventional heat exchangers reach their temperature limits. The fully weldedconstruction also means that Compablocsare eminently suited for use in corrosiveand aggressive operating environments.

Spiral condenserA spiral heat exchanger is a circular heatexchanger with two concentric spiralchannels, one for each fluid. Alfa Lavalspiral heat exchangers are particularlyuseful when a process is “dirty” or“difficult”.

Fluid handling equipmentUnlike many suppliers that only dealwith processing in batches, Alfa Lavalfocuses on continuous processing.

This means that all the process flowsmust be pumpable. Naturally, thisrequires completely dependable fluidhandling equipment. Alfa Lavaltherefore produces its own ranges ofpumps, valves and tubes so as to beable to guarantee performanceaccording to specifications andprovide customers with fully optimizedprocessing conditions.

Alfa Laval fluid handling equipment istherefore a natural part of many of ourproject delivery specifications. Alfa Laval supplies a comprehensiverange of centrifugal pumps thatprovide high efficiency and lowmaintenance costs. Positivedisplacement pumps feature a tough,innovative construction and ensure agentle, reliable pumping action.

Spiral heat exchanger


Alfa Laval provides a range of specialprocess modules that are primeexamples of how such systems can beoptimized under ideal conditions.

These modules are extremely versatileand easy to customize so they fit inwith your specific processingrequirements and provide you witheffective, profitable solutions thatharmonize perfectly with your otherequipment and installations.

Their compactness also providesexcellent opportunities for plantexpansion or retrofitting your existingequipment.

These special Alfa Laval processmodules also enable you to optimizeyour current installations to a degreewhere production costs can becarefully monitored and often reduced– as well as improving the quality ofyour end product.

Processing bone materialFor processing bones and other meatby-products, Alfa Laval provides theCentribone module. Centribone is acontinuous wet rendering process thatmakes it possible to turn meat by-products into purified fats, with meatand bone meal, as well as bone chips,as end products, thus making itpossible to boost revenue.

Alfa Laval Centribone modules are themost versatile and efficient way toprocess meat by-products and canhandle any raw material, from fattytissues to the best gelatine bones. Thelow-temperature process is acompletely closed system that is alsosuitable for processing edible products.

Grinder

Heater

Decanter centrifuge

Disc stackcentrifuge

Bone raw material

Edible/technical fat

Solids

Stick water

Centribone process module

Alfa Laval modules combine the best of product know-how and

processing components into optimized standard solutions.

Alfa Laval process modules – working in harmony

Heater

3-phase decantercentrifuge

Solids Technicalfat

Recycle water to DAF cells

DAF skimmings

Centriskim process module


Processing skimmingsMeat and poultry processors have todeal with problems associated withdisposal of the skimmings phase fromDissolved Air Flotation (DAF) systems.

The Alfa Laval CentriSkim processmakes it possible to reduce disposalcosts by using centrifugal separation toextract a concentrated protein solidsphase, technical fat and a recyclablewater phase.

The recovered protein can constituteas much as 30% of the total volume,which makes it possible to achievesubstantial savings in disposal costs.The recovered protein phase can beeither sent for further processing, orused in agriculture.

Pre-heated

Heater

Decanter centrifuge

Blood

Solids

Effluent

Centriblood process module

Processing bloodFor processing blood, Alfa Lavalsupplies the Centriblood processmodule. This is a continuous processfor dewatering blood and is used in the production of highly digestible blood meal.

Alfa Laval Centriblood plants are aversatile, efficient way to convert animalblood into high-quality blood meal.Mechanical and thermal pre-treatmentof the blood ensures a continuousprocess with very high yields. Steamcoagulation combined with modern de-watering techniques based on Alfa Laval decanter centrifuges resultsin dewatered blood that is ready forfurther handling or treatment.

Grinder

Heater

3-phase decanter centrifuge

Fish raw material

Solids OilStick water

ConDec process module


Processing fish oil and fish proteinThe Alfa Laval ConDec processmodule for high-grade fish oil and fishprotein is a unique combination ofContherm heaters and an AlfaVapevaporator with Alfa Laval decantercentrifuges and disc stack centrifuges,in one single cost-effective package.

The proteins produced from fresh fish using the ConDec process areeasily digested and have goodbiological values.

From waste product to clean fuelThe Alfa Laval Centrifine process makes it possible to purify fats from slaughterhouseby-products until they only contain a maximum of 0.15% impurities, by weight. Aftercleaning with a decanter centrifuge and disc stack centrifuge, they can then be usedfor technical purposes, which opens up surprising new commercial opportunities.

At the SARIA Bio-Industries plant in Malchin, Germany the purified fats from an AlfaLaval Centrifine plant are used to produce steam. “This enables us to cut down onexpenditure on heavy fuel. In fact, the fat is so clean that it could also be used for theproduction of biodiesel,” points out the production manager.

Production Manager Jörg Binnewies, SARIA Bio-Industries GmbH, Germany

Processing fatsMeat and poultry processors that needto comply with the EU technical fatsdirective have to comply with therequirements for maximum totalinsoluble impurities in the fats.

The Alfa Laval Centrifine moduleprovides an efficient solution thatguarantees compliance with this EUlegislation limit. This is done bycombining different Alfa Laval decantercentrifuges or disc stack centrifuges,depending on the specifications of theincoming product. Centrifine modulesare available both with and withoutadditional equipment for washing theparticles.

Decanter centrifuge Solids

Pump

Disc stackcentrifuge

Press liquid

Fat

Solids

Water

Stick water

Centrifine process module


Processing MDM and pre-ground meatFor cooling mechanically debonedmeat (MDM) and other pre-ground rawmaterial, Alfa Laval supplies theAlfaCool process module.

This provides a continuous, integratedprocess in which the product is fed toa Contherm scraped-surface heatexchanger. This rapidly and evenlycools the raw material to near freezingpoint with only an absolute minimum ofwater crystals in the end product.

The cooling medium flows in the spacebetween the cylinder and the insulatedjacket, with no contact with theproduct. This ensures a high heattransfer coefficient, no contaminationand no air in-mix.

By avoiding the handling and energycosts associated with frozen blocks,the AlfaCool concept represents hugesavings in labour handling, energy andtransport costs.

Preparation

CoolerCoolingmedium

cold

Coolingmediumwarm

Raw material

MDMor pet food

AlfaCool process module

Compact cooling makes thedifferenceThe cooling system at the Turlockplant in California, USA consists oftwo Alfa Laval Contherm units, whichcool mechanically deboned meat from15°C to 2°C (59°F to 36°F). As JimTheis explains, “We wanted acontinuous cooling system that wouldprovide us with a more consistent endproduct of higher quality, and with apayback time of less than two years.The unique compactness of theContherm scraped-surface heatexchanger system made thispossible.”

Director of Operations Jim Theis,Forster Farms, USA


Leftovers into high-value productsMost of the protein contained in fishand animal by-products is currentlyturned into protein meal, the mainingredient in animal feed.

However, fish and meat processingoperations also result in many othercomponents often thought of as“leftovers”. But there is now a growingworldwide awareness that suchprocesses can in fact be a valuablesource of protein that can be put toprofitable use.

New outlook on raw materialsAlfa Laval know-how and experiencecan help you turn your fish and meatby-products into valuable new,customized protein fractions thatrepresent important new businessopportunities, and ways for yourcompany to move further up the value chain.

New thinking - new opportunitiesTurning valuable protein into a foodingredient or additive for humanconsumption, however, requires aradically new way of thinking. Itdemands a new business approachthat breaks with tradition, and a focuson new markets for products that areprimarily characterized by containingprotein.

For example, proteins can beprocessed for their functional qualities,their taste, or as essential amino acidswith nutraceutical potential.

Know-how makes the differenceWith years of experience in supplyingprocessing systems for edibleproducts, Alfa Laval has acquiredconsiderable know-how in the use ofproteins in making specialized endproducts. Alfa Laval is therefore thenatural choice for companies seekingto establish a working relationship witha specialist in added-value proteinprocessing solutions.

Protein as food

Alfa Laval in briefAlfa Laval is a leading global provider ofspecialized products and engineeredsolutions.

Our equipment, systems and servicesare dedicated to helping customers tooptimize the performance of theirprocesses. Time and time again.

We help our customers to heat, cool,separate and transport products suchas oil, water, chemicals, beverages,foodstuffs, starch and pharmaceuticals.

Our worldwide organization worksclosely with customers in almost 100countries to help them stay ahead.

How to contact Alfa LavalUp-to-date Alfa Laval contact details forall countries are always available on ourwebsite at www.alfalaval.com

PFT00123EN 0411

Vis

colin

e is

a t

rad

emar

k ow

ned

by

Alfa

Lav

al C

orp

orat

e A

BA

LFA

LA

VAL

is a

tra

dem

ark

regi

ster

ed a

nd o

wne

d b

y A

lfa L

aval

Cor

por

ate

AB

, S

wed

en.

© 2

004

Alfa

Lav

al.

fully tuned - alfa laval · disc stack centrifuges disc stack centrifuges are ideal for a wide...

Documents