Reverse osmosis
Serum Italia has a Reverse Osmosis plant in Cazzago San Martino, by reverse osmosis treatment we triple the protein content of the incoming liquid cheese whey. In the ultrafiltration plant the product is further concentrated.
Whey treatment
The incoming raw material is processed in Serum Italia’s sophisticated GEA whey treatment system. The first step is to skim off the cream from the whey using the cream separator. This simultaneously removes the fine particles of the curd. The whey is bactofugated in a process that uses centrifugal force to remove heavier microorganisms and spores, followed by a pasteurization process. The third step of the whey treatment is the plate pasteurizer which eliminates the pathogenic microorganisms and a significant part of the microbial flora, without any changes of the chemical, physical or organoleptic characteristics.
Ultrafiltration
Serum Italia has two ultrafiltration plants, both located in the Cazzago San Martino Business Unit. A 9 loops UF cool system (10-15°C) and a Koch Italia 5 loops hot system (50°C).
The ultrafiltration process separates the proteins from the other components by blocking the larger components by a membrane. In the Serum Italia plant, every step of the production processed is fully automated and supervised by highly qualified staff to guarantee the highest quality standard and the safety requirements of products.
Evaporator
The whey concentrate 60% is obtained through a process of concentration by evaporation of whey concentrate. The installation, built by GEA in the Cazzago San Martino Business Unit, is a falling film COMBIVAPORATOR with a double Mechanical Vapour Recompression. The installation is perfectly isolated to limit the dispersion of heat energy and to reduce noise to a minimum (maximum value 60dB) and the energy consumption is reduced to a minimum.