Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - KUBBI (Cost- and Climate-Efficient Milk Cooling Using Slurry Ice and Natural CO2)

Teaser

One of the key reasons for the relatively short shelf life of milk, is the bacterial growth between the actual milking and the cooling of the milk. Milk is extracted at a temperature of approximately 37 °C and holds a natural resistance to bacteria immediately after it has...

Summary

One of the key reasons for the relatively short shelf life of milk, is the bacterial growth between the actual milking and the cooling of the milk. Milk is extracted at a temperature of approximately 37 °C and holds a natural resistance to bacteria immediately after it has been collected, but this natural resistance declines rapidly (few minutes). Rapid and efficient milk cooling is essential for preserving milk quality. Optimal milk cooling requires much faster cooling to 4-6 °C, than what is possible with the current 90-120 minutes standard cooling technology.

KUBBI COOLING is a milk cooling technology for dairy farmers based on slurry ice as the active cooling ingredient and natural CO2 as refrigerant. The main advantages for the end users (dairy farmers) are superior milk quality, higher raw milk prices and significantly lower energy costs for milk cooling and storage. KUBBI COOLING enables unprecedented rapid cooling of the fresh milk (30-60 sec. vs. 90-120 min.), being 120-180-fold faster than conventional milk cooling systems; this in turn enables much better preservation of valuable proteins in the fresh milk and inhibits bacterial spoilage. The advantages for the milk quality are decreased microorganism growth and slower rancidification (degradation) of the milk fat, directly and positively impacting the taste and the smell and extending the shelf life by 1-3 days.

In the development of KUBBI COOLING LogPh Ltd.’s has succeeded in introducing a resource-efficient and cost-effective solution for healthy and high-quality food. KUBBI COOLING is a result of test running to find the suitable precision and parameters to produce a size-customable module (as opposed to several separate parts of the conventional milk cooling systems). It comes in 4 different sizes with the highest capacity cooling up to 10,000 l milk per day. In a branch which has an acute shortage of cooling technicians, KUBBI COOLING is designed to be easy to install and support, without the demand for a specialized technician.

KUBBI COOLING solves the dairy farmers’ problem of cooling and storing their milk by introducing an innovative excellently-timed milk cooling module which guarantees higher operating efficiency, higher energy efficiency, no greenhouse gas emissions, no ozone layer harming and higher milk quality. It is proven by milk laboratories and industry, and verified by own testing, that this new angle is improving milk quality compared to traditional ways.

Work performed

The technical feasibility study has focused on adapting the machine construction to commercial production. One key issue in the development of the KUBBI COOLING was to find suitable components. A lot of effort has been put into finding the right components and their adaptivity to perform according to the demand from controller.
We have also come a long way in detailed plans for design for maintenance, production and cost. KUBBI COOLING is finally ready for and adapted to commercial production.
We have demonstrated and discussed the functionalities of the KUBBI COOLING with stakeholders. LogPh Ltd. has made demonstrations at a farm in Faroe Islands and has gathered prospect customer feedback. The target group in Northern Europe is interesting. LogPh Ltd. has explored the neighborhood marked in Iceland, which has good potential considering both size and number of dairy farms.

Final results

The innovation makes it possible for the first time ever to cool milk down within 30-60 seconds and hence be ready for transportation immediately after collection.
This will be a game changer because the transportation of milk at present has to be scheduled according to the time needed for the milk to cool down and reach 4 °C. Also, the fast cooling of milk using slurry ice, gives a better milk quality for which the farmer can get a better price.
The environment will benefit from the KUBBI COOLING module, hence it does not use the harmful HFCs or ammonia.
Bended gas cooling in the KUBBI COOLING with co2 as refrigerant gives the possibilities for 90 °C hot water with good economy. And co2 is neutral environmentally.
There will be direct environmental benefits in longer shelf life of milk, thus reducing food waste.

Website & more info

More info: http://servitan.fo/.