Food, dairy and beverage plants generate enormous volumes of process water and waste streams daily. Evaporators play a part in reducing the volumes of wastewater that must be dealt with. They also can be used to help capture valuable material that can be potentially reused. Have you examined whether your effluent stream is an untapped asset?
Recovered Water — Your Most Immediate Win
Evaporation produces high-quality condensate suitable for reuse in applications such as boiler feed, cooling tower makeup, CIP pre-rinse and irrigation. Evaporator condensate can also be further treated (example: RO polisher) to qualify as Category 1 water for broader CIP applications.
As mentioned above, this reuse reduces the need for water intake into your facility as well as decreases the amount of water discharged to your municipality. Contact Caloris for help quantifying potential water savings for your plant.
CIP Chemical Recovery — A Frequently Overlooked Opportunity
CIP streams contain recoverable caustic, acid and sanitizer concentrations. Filtration systems and evaporators can be employed to purify and concentrate spent CIP solutions for reconstitution and reuse, resulting in cost savings both in terms of procurement and disposal. Dairy, beverage and brewing operations specifically could benefit from this opportunity.
Other Recoverable Resources Worth Examining
Dairies may be able to recover substances (such as salt from a brine system) for reuse, impacting both the purchasing costs and the discharge costs.
Sugars, starches and flavor compounds may be recoverable at other food processing facilities. On the beverage processing side, there may be a chance to recoup process losses and concentrate.
Selecting the Right Evaporator Technology
Caloris engineers can help you determine whether mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) or thermal vapor recompression (TVR) is the right type of evaporator for your situation. We will take into account factors such as energy costs, available footprint, volume and feed composition, as well as the best way to integrate into any existing plant infrastructure. Contact us to get the conversation started.
Sustainability and Compliance Advantages
Whether you are seeking ways to improve your facility’s water stewardship efforts, wish to reduce the strength and/or volume load on your wastewater treatment system or need ways to satisfy corporate sustainability commitments, evaporation is a major opportunity. Call 410-822-6900 or send email to problem.solved@caloris.com to speak with one of our engineers about resource recovery.
