​​UV technology cuts off 88,000 euros from dairy’s energy bill​

03 September 2024 | Lyras A/S

• Focus on sustainability
• Food Processing
• Water and Energy

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With the help of Lyras’ cutting-edge technology, a dairy now cuts off 91 percent of its energy consumption for inactivation of microorganisms in processing water. Inactivation now happens through UV-driven raslysation rather than traditional heat treatment. The new tech provides full microbial control whilst saving the dairy approx. 88,000 euros a year and thus reduces the environmental impact.    

Apart from nine tenths of the energy expenditure, Lyras’ safe pasteurization replacement, raslysation, also removes all risks of glass contamination. The raslysation system is constructed in such a way that there is no direct contact between the treated liquid, water, and the ultraviolet lamps, while a log 12 reduction is achieved on microorganisms in water.     

“The dairy has replaced its pasteurizer for water treatment with a raslysation system from Lyras. This ensures the desired water quality and prevents the product from spoiling when it is flushed from tanks and pipes. The risk of glass contamination is also eliminated.” explains Senior Sales Engineer, Allan Holst Sørensen.  

He continues:     

 “The big energy saving is won in that the dairy no longer has to heat up water to 72 degrees and subsequently cool it to a service temperature of 30 degrees, which is the case in traditional pasteurization. Instead, we effectively inactivate the microorganisms using UV light without having to heat up the water. After that, we use a heat exchanger to ensure that the water has the exact desired temperature when utilized. Thus, the water flushes the curd grain out of containers and pipes without changing its texture. If the temperature is wrong, the curd grains retract, ruining the structure of the cheese. With the new raslysation system, the dairy saves energy and money while eliminating the risk of glass contamination and ruined cheese.”   

Since raslysation only needs electricity to operate, the technology provides a basis for applying for government subsidies on the grounds that it is part of the transition from fossil fuels to climate neutral.   

Valuable proteins are protected due to full microbial control   
Raslysation also secures high product quality in opaque liquids like brine, whey, blood plasma, protein solutions, juice, and industrially fermented liquids. Because heat is avoided, the product’s valuable proteins are kept in their original form. When the technology is used as a replacement for depth filtration of for instance enzyme solutions, the production process gains higher yield and an increased level of automation.    

Lyras’ goal is to implement raslysation across the global process industry and thereby both contribute to reducing the world’s total CO₂ emissions, and to increase food safety globally. Raslysation systems are already installed in companies across Europe, Australia, and USA.   

Inactivates all microorganisms effectively   

Food business operators have various requirements for the quality of the processing water. Usually, you have separate water sources and analyze their quality as part of the manufacturer’s own checks. Since water is often an integral part of food production, it is essential that the water is completely clean, for example when it is used to empty tanks and vats for curd grain, when flushing product from process pipes as well as for processing water in cheese production. Raslysation effectively inactivates all microorganisms and can therefore often fully replace the traditional heat treatment of both water and product.   

Explanation of the picture:

Before: Pasteurization of process water previously entailed high energy consumption as the dairy first heated the water to 72 degrees and then cooled it down to a service temperature of 30 degrees. When cooling failed, the product was often ruined due to the water being too hot during flushing.    

Now: Raslysation technology from Lyras inactivates all microorganisms effectively using UV light without heating the water. Afterwards, a heat exchanger is used to reach a desired water temperature of 30 degrees. The water then flushes the curd grain from vats and pipes without changing its structure. This reduces the risk of ruined cheese and eliminates the risk of glass contamination of the product.