GEA’s energy-efficient dairy evaporator for dairy industry

With the GEA Dairy Evaporator eZero, GEA Group presents an innovative evaporator that considerably reduces energy consumption and that can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 100%. This solution is designed to meet the increasing demands of the dairy industry, which is facing challenges such as high energy prices and stricter climate targets.

Evaporators are among the largest energy consumers in dairies. They are used in the production of whole and skim milk powder, infant formula and whey powder. Reducing their energy consumption can have a significant impact on both energy costs and overall plant sustainability. The new eZero Dairy Evaporator enables these energy savings without compromising product quality.

Significant reduction in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions

GEA’s Dairy Evaporator eZero aligns with the company’s commitment to eliminating dependency on fossil fuels by transitioning to renewable energy sources and empowering customers to produce more sustainably. Depending on plant operation specifics, resources, and the electricity emission factor, the new system can reduce energy consumption up to 60% and CO₂ emissions by up to 100% compared to conventional mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) evaporators. By means of green electricity, zero CO2 emissions can be achieved which may also include offsetting measures depending on the energy mix of the electricity provider.

Engineering competence for future proofed solutions

Thermal vapor recompression (TVR) is typically applied to multi-effect evaporators powered by live steam, while mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) is more energy efficient and uses electricity to recompress and recycle product vapor in single-effect evaporators. Both technologies rely on steam for heating products before evaporation. The eZero evaporator is compatible with MVR systems and can also be applied to TVR evaporators after conversion to MVR technology. It is also adaptable to new and existing systems.

To convert an existing TVR evaporator to use the eZero, the thermocompressor is replaced by a standard compressor, while reusing the evaporator’s calandria and the high-speed mechanical compressor for the evaporation process. This conversion is the first crucial step in reducing steam consumption and CO₂ emissions by moving away from fossil fuels.

The eZero evaporator takes a further step by integrating an ammonia heat pump to transfer the heat from the vapor at the condenser to a low-pressure steam generator or flash vessel. This process naturally creates two loops of water: a cold loop (approximately 35–45°C) that cools the condenser water loop, and a hot loop (approximately 80–90°C) that provides heat for the heat treatment system. Hot water is flashed to produce low-pressure steam, which is then recompressed to higher pressure for efficient product heating.