Laser Plate applications for the Dairy Industry
Omega Thermo Products is the world’s largest manufacturer of Laser Plates for milk cooling tanks. In order to deliver quality milk products, it is important that the vessel is cooled evenly and to the correct temperature. In addition, the cooling of dairy products must comply with all kinds of legal regulations. This applies to milk coming directly from the cow as well as for dairy products such as yogurt, custard, cheese or cream which are processed in dairy factories. Omega Thermo Products has decades of experience in the process-oriented design and production of Laser Plates for the dairy industry.
Milk tanks on farms
When cows are milked, the milk has to be cooled from 95° F to 39 °F within an hour. Depending on the number of times per day that a cow is milked, you calculate how much cooling surface (Omega Laser Plate) is needed to cool the milk within the established time limit.
Many smaller dairy farms have merged into bigger farms with a larger stock of cattle. At these companies, traditional milk tanks are slowly being replaced by larger milk silos.
Directly cool milk with Omega Laser Plates
Our Laser Plates are applied in multiple ways for the dairy industry. In all methods the inner tank is manufactured from Laser Plates. In the case of a horizontal tank, the lower half of the tank is cooled. In smaller, open vessels, the bottom half is equipped with Laser Plates.
To determine the cooling surface for milk silos, Omega often runs a heat transfer calculation. After performing this calculation, we will present a proposal to our customer. This proposal contains the required surface, the baffling design, with pressure drop and the connection size if this hasn’t already been determined by the customer.
Read more about our Heat Exchangers & Applications in our literature!
ADVANTAGES OF USING LASER PLATES FOR MILK TANKS
Omega Laser Plate is manufactured with a protective plastic film on the product side of the plate
The film can be removed
This produces a good quality finish inside of the tank without polishing
Our flexible welding process ensures very efficient heating and cooling
Optimal heat transfer due to turbulent flow in the jacket
In addition to cooling, Omega Laser Plates are suitable for heating to temperatures up to +600 °F.
With years of experience in the dairy industry and many customers in this sector, our engineers can quickly calculate the type of Laser Plate you need to cool your product.
Heat exchangers for the dairy industry
In dairy factories, the product is often heated or cooled using indirect heat exchangers, as there is a short time frame to cool the product. Therefore, an Omega Falling Film Water Chiller is a good solution. But an Immersion Chiller or Ice Bank can also be used if you want to avoid peak energy consumption hours.
We supply our products to producers worldwide in the dairy industry. If you want to know more about our range of options, our engineers will gladly discuss the possibilities with you.
Contact us to learn about different product variations, materials & heat transfer mediums!