Low Impact Manufacturing: Energy Consumption in Cheese Production

This article discusses the energy consumption in cheese production and suggests ways to reduce energy costs. It also explores the use of ultrafiltration for protein standardization of cheese milk. The article includes a flow diagram for cheese production, a Sankey diagram for energy productivity, and a description of the supply systems for sustainable energy. The subject is low impact manufacturing, and the document type is an article. No type of assignment, course code, course name, or college/university is mentioned.

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Introduction
Part 1
Cheese can be defined as a ripen product of milk that is obtained through coagulation process.
This process involves separation of the component of milk including buttermilk, skimmed milk,
milk itself or a mixture of all these components. In very may occasions the most targeted
component is the cream. Also the crucial components are usually regarded as the ingredients that
constitute salts, coagulating enzymes and cheese. The coagulating enzyme is responsible for the
activities of bacterial culture. It is also called rennet.
Flow diagram for production
Figure 1: Production process of cheese (Sitzia et al 2015).
Description of methods, techniques, and equipment

General:
The manufacturing process of cheese must be first standardized, separated and then undertaken
through clarification. All the raw materials for milk must be taken through homogenization
process in order to make them suitable for cheese production. During this process, the raw
material is kept is a cool place for a period of about one hour to enable it develop some level of
acidity. Such low PH values will promote the activities of bacteria that will remain active most
of the time. This important process is referred to as ripening and it will always be carried out
before the process of reneging. The step that follows is called preparation of gel. This process is
only carried out upon milk reaching a particular level of firmness. The firm substance is cut into
smaller pieces with the aid of wires or blades {Dairy science and technology}.Once the curds
have reached the desired acidity and moistening level, they are separated from the mixture. The
subsequent procedures will vary greatly depending on the type of cheese that is to be prepared.
(Nudda et al.2014). This final stage varies from weeks to years according to the cheese variety.
The five most energy consumption stages
Milk Standardization
The standardization of milk refers to the adjustment in the content of fat of the received milk.
This will translate into legally allowable percentage. During this process there is the use of rotary
equipment that provides the required centrifugal force. The rotation of these components leads to
the consumption of mechanical energy in form of motion. According to the research sources the
largest amount of energy that is consumed at this stage is as a result of the heavy masses of the
centrifuge. These masses need a lot of energy to be rotated. Use of lighter centrifuge can possibly
result in little energy consumption(Chavan, Sandeep, Basu and Bhatt 2016).

Pasteurization
During this step, the raw material which is milk is treated at a temperature of 68 degrees Celsius.
This is normally done for about 10 minutes. The step is necessary so as to destroy pathogens and
other enzymes that might be harmful to the process of ripening. The thermal process produces
enough heat that is capable of inactivating an enzyme called alkaline phosphatase. However,
superoxide dismutase is never affected. The whole process consumes a lot of energy. The
effective set of the components may contribute to the reduction of time that is required for
pasteurization from 10 minutes to 8 minutes (Mistry and Maubois 2017). This should, however,
be done with lots of precautions so as not to compromise quality of the final product.
Calcium chloride and rennet addition
The production of cheese is through the process of clotting. This is achieved through the
production of chymosin which is actually the main component of rennet. The process is
necessary for gel to develop and Feta to form a texture that is firm. For this process to be
successful, the raw material which is actually milk must rest for about an hour at a temperature
of 30-35 degrees. This is another energy consuming process. The components should be properly
lagged to reduce heat/energy loss(Sitzia et al 2015).
Cutting of Coagulum and Moulding
After the process of coagulation that is caused by the tenets, there is the formation of curd which
may be 2 to 3 cm. The most crucial factor for the production of Feta is the set temperature. The
temperature should be kept at 16 degrees. It is at this temperature that the best flavour and
texture are produced. This process consumes a lot of energy as well. Since this is a compulsory

stage, the supply of raw material should be done in large quantities to avoid wastage of energy
(Pangallo et al.2014).
Ripening
The Feta cheese maturation normally starts before the curd-making process is finished. This
stage can be separated into two phases. The first one takes place simultaneously with the process
of salting. During this simultaneous process, the temperature must be maintained at 18 degrees.
This results in another energy consumption process. The second one takes place after the
simultaneous process has been completed. This too is associated with rising temperature. The
loss of energy in this particular process can be controlled through proper insulation of the
equipment since energy will be lost in the form of heat(Iha et al 2013).
According to the guidelines for the industries dealing with dairy products, the crucial amount of
energy that is consumed by the entire process is generated by the compressors and surface
aerators. These are located at the sewage treatment facility of the plant.
Quantification of the energy
The approach of the energy audit will be used to facilitate the processes of decision making. This
approach will allow for the quantification of the use of energy at every stage of processing. It
works through balancing of the input energy with the output energy principles. This will also be
used as a tool for the preliminary audit. The maximization and conservation strategies translate
into automatic protection of the environment.
Part 2
Sankey Diagram

Energy productivity refers to a ratio of production to the energy that is being consumed during
the process of production. In the plants of manufacturing, the consumption of energy can be
divided into different logistics. These include supply, production, storage, and distribution. In
these categories, each section is normally associated with the value of energy consumed. The
consumption of energy is therefore expressed in terms of kWh(Oeffner et al 2013). According to
various sources, around 80% of the energy that is used during the operation is obtained from the
combustion of fuel. The remaining energy in the form of electricity is used to maintain the
processes. An elaborate process of production of cheese will include stages like melting. During
this processes, the ingredients are introduced into a kettle where the heating is done up to a
temperature of about 75 degrees. The ingredients are mixed together with the milled cheese. This
is the only way to ensure that a process of pasteurization is completed for the quality product of
milk. The process of emulsification is used to enhance by the use of agitation which increase the
surface area for the reaction. The type of the final product will be determined by the length of
exposure time and temperature of operation(Hassan, Oates and Greenough 2018).

Figure 2: Sankey diagram for the production of cheese(Egypto et al 2013)
Temperature ranges and other parameters

Changes in the process
Use of Ultrafiltration (UF) for protein standardization of cheese milk
In the processing of milk or production of cheese, a lot of energy is expected to be used in the
stage of pasteurization. Since this is the crucial stage in the processing plant, the quality and
quantity of energy cannot be compromised lest the company incur loses.
Renewable Energy Technology Description
Ultrafiltration may be applied in the protein standardization of cheese milk. In this process, the
milk is made to flow under pressure over some membrane which retains the molecules of
proteins hence enhancing the content of the protein of the tenet. The sizes of the membrane pore
often range from about 10-100 nm(Dora et al 2013). Since the use of UF results in an increase in
the yield of cheese per unit of processes milk, the produced amount of whey tends to be smaller
in comparison with the production through conventional standardization. Still, even if UF needed
extra electrical power, thermal energy as well as water in comparison with the tradition

standardization when done in large quantities, the increase in the yield of compensates of cheese
increases for the enhanced consumption of water and energy(Egypto et al 2013).
The permeate from the unit of UF is further treated using the process of reverse osmosis. The
reverse osmosis water which is of the same quality as that of drinking water may be used in for
the purposes of cleaning. UF may be applicable to both whey and milk and the UF units may be
installed in both new and existing installations since they have low space requirements.
The process leads to reduced consumption of water and energy, whey as well as wastewater as
compared to the conventional standardization(Ahmad and Ahmed 2014). The membranes have
to undergo regular cleaning hence a lot of water is consumed leading to high costs of
investments. Furthermore, cheese of homogenous quality may be generated with the use of the
technique. This method as well offers greater flexibility for the production of various types of
cheese. The approximated savings in the amount of water and energy consumed in a dairy when
UF is used are as shown below. The calculations are made for 25000t/yr. of yellow cheese
production.
Description of the supply systems for sustainable energy
The membrane processes may lead to a reduction in the consumption of heat even though
electoral power is a need for the purposes of pumping liquid across a semi-solid permeable
membrane. Ripening of cheese at high temperature with later ionization and humidification of

ventilation air. The energy that is lost from the surface of components in form of heat can be
recycled to maintain other process like ripening(Adeyemo, Oni. and Longe 2013).
Energy cost reduction mechanism
In order for the company to reduce the cost on energy expenditure, the following techniques can
be implemented further
Use of separation instead of evaporation: The separation method will employ very little energy
almost non as compared to evaporation.
Simultaneous processing of products: When processes are handled independently, there is
normally wastage of energy as opposed to collective processing methods.
Conclusion
In the manufacture of cheese, the air temperature is increased so as to reduce the time for
ripening. These results in low quantities of facilities of storage, aeration energy as well as
cooling power demanded since increased temperatures enhances the chances of dehydration of
final product as well as mold’s interference. The aeration air undergoes humidification as well as
being made fresh via the outlet tubes which literally charge the air that is later conveyed by the
use of the air pipes (Cipolat et al 2013). As the particles in the incoming or inlet air undergoes
reaction, the particles of dusts, viruses, and microorganisms. The analysis demonstrated that the
largest energy consumption in the manufacturing of cheese was at the facility of cooling. This
portion accounted for 63.54%.

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