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Whey Powder

SPX has been a key supplier for concentration and drying of whey for decades and this process is still the most common way to convert whey into added-value products. The removal of water makes it possible to store the whey solids for a very long time and in reduced volume.

The basic concentration and drying processes may sometimes be combined with demineralisation processes such as ion exchange, electrodialysis or nanofiltration to improve the quality of the product and increase its range of future applications, especially in the food industry. Condensed whey and whey powder can be used for both animal feed and the production of foodstuffs.

Concentration of whey is based on evaporation in multi-stage, tubular falling-film evaporators. Reverse osmosis is somtimes used either as an alternative or as a complimentary process to evaporation because reverse osmosis removes the water at low solids levels very efficiently and cheaply. Drying of the concentrated whey is normally carried out in spray dryers.

SPX's in-depth knowledge and active involvement in the development of the world's whey processing industry, combined with proven experience in project management of major capital projects, makes SPX the ideal partner for the design and installation of state-of-the-art whey powder processing equipment.

Capabilities

Production of whey powder can involve the following key process stages, all of which can be supplied by SPX:

• Whey pre-treatment
• Reverse osmosis
• Evaporation
• Crystallisation
• Spray drying

Read more about our capabilities.

Process Diagram

Benefits SPX's global experience as a supplier of processing technology and equipment for whey products is a key factor in our ability to deliver cost-effective solutions tailored to individual customer requirements. We offer an enormous range of resources to the dairy industry in process engineering, equipment manufacturing, project management - for both large and small projects - and world-class development facilities. With its range of process equipment, SPX is able to select the most economically viable process to suit particular customers' needs. Ourrange of multi-stage spray dryers and fluidised bed dryers ensure that the optimum quality is achieved in the final product.