Cooling facility for milk powered by Solar Energy

by Dairy Equipment CEO

Milk Chilling basically stunts the growth of bacteria converting the lactose or sugar in the milk into lactic acid, which curdles the proteins and causes souring. It should be done within one/one-and-half hour of milking, after which the naturally occurring preservatives in the milk (including carbon dioxide) stop working.

Dairies now use bulk cooling tanks to chill their milk to about 4 degrees Celsius at their procurement centres. These tanks, of 3,000-5,000 litres capacity, keep the milk chilled till the tanker from the dairy arrives.Irregular power supply in rural areas, the bulk coolers require the back-up of a diesel generator set.That again raises costs – a 5,000-litre cooler with generator set and other installations comes at Rs. 9 lakh or so – besides causing noise and air pollution. Third, the bulk coolers take 3-3.5 hours to chill the milk to 4 degrees. There is no instant chilling here, more so with many farmers pouring one after the other milk at ambient temperatures. Real chilling happens only when the pouring stops.

Solar Hybrid powered milk chillers for rural India::
Krishna Allied Industries has developed a Solar Hybrid Milk Chiller , solar-powered milk refrigerator that can be used in small rural households with only unreliable access to electricity.
This will help smartly to close the milk cold-chain from the smallest farms to the milk processors.

Lack of refrigeration in rural India is leading to millions of tonnes of fresh produce going to waste every year. India is the largest producer and consumer of milk in the world; 130 million tons of milk is produced annually by rural farmers in India, yet a significant proportion of this is lost due to non-existent cooling systems in small villages and farms. Lack of a reliable electricity supply is one of the biggest challenges in India. Around 400 million people are without access to a reliable power supply currently.

Using Solar energy for cooling and refrigeration of Milk - Solar Powered Milk Cooling tank :Solar energy is the most readily available source of energy. It does not belong to anybody and is, therefore, free. It is also the most important of the non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-polluting and, therefore, helps in lessening the greenhouse effect.

India is the world’s largest milk producer — it contributes 16 percent of global production, with the United States coming second and China third. In 2011, world milk production hit 727 million tons, and according to India’s National Dairy development board, the country contributed about 120 million tons to that figure. It is estimated that about 50 percent of India’s milk is consumed on-farm. But the other half doesn’t necessarily reach the consumer.

Milk is an important food source that developing countries rely on, but it spoils quickly. Chilling milk within four hours of milking cows reduces the chances of spoilage, but that requires refrigeration units and most importantly an uninterrupted power supply. Solar powered milk cooling tank were developed to solve the issue of chilling milk as close as possible to the source for small, remote farms. With no electricity infrastructure and output too low to support on-farm diesel generation, producers needed a solution for milk refrigeration as early as possible in the process.

The system of milk collection in sparsely populated regions of developing countries is based on milk collection centers. The farmers who often own only a few cows bring their milk to the centre where it is measured, quality tested and cooled. Milk tankers pick up the milk every two days. The PV- solar Milk Cooling tank is a transportable, ready for use collection centre which avoids the need for Diesel generators in off grid areas with lots of sunshine. It is economical as it saves diesel and fuel cost. Krishna Allied Industries Private Limited is a leading Manufacturer and Exporter of Dairy Equipments and Collection Accessories. An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company committed to world class quality, combined with efficient delivery, competitive pricing and dedicated after sales service. Krishna industries brings an economic and sustainable solution to rural milking operations in the developing world - Solar Powered Milk Cooling Tank. Of course, this innovation could also be used in the developed world to reduce dependence on the traditional electrical grid.

The advantage of the solar milk tank introduced by Krishna Allied Industries is

    To halt bacteria growth in the milk at the farm, so that milk can be used for higher value end products
    To reduce logistical complexity of collecting raw milk in urns daily from several small farms
    To improve the traceability of product inputs, reducing the risk of adulteration and contamination

Chilling of raw milk also decreases the risk and cost of spoiling due to delays in being transported to processing centers.

The salient features of the solar milk cooling tank are

1) Unit runs on storage power backup system which is charged by both Solar Energy and Grid Power
2) Capable of giving power for 6 hrs (3 hrs in morning and 3 hrs in evening)
3) Batteries used are flooded cell lead acid type tubular which lasts up to 8 years
4) Charging system equipped with Multi Point Power Tracking Module (MPPT) for optimum use of solar power
5) Refrigeration panel is micro controlled using solid state switching module
6) Internal circuitry designed on micro controller based digital logic system
7) System equipped with smart heater that prepares hot water for CIP without consuming any power
8) Controller equipped with separate backup battery, to perform the following in absence of any power
(a) Display the temperature of milk, (b) Display the compressor run time, (c) Intermittent agitation for 8 hours
9) Charging Time:
(a) Switches to solar PV if available, (b) Switches to grid power is solar not available
Discharging Time: (a) Switches to solar PV if Solar is available, (b) Switches to battery if solar is not available, (c) Switches to grid if solar and battery both not available
10) Additional system protection using
(a) Internal diode clamping for each channel through micro controller, (b) Opto coupler with triac drive for AC0DC line separation, (c) Emergency stop with a single switch
11) Recharge time only 7 hrs
12) PV cells arranged in a static grid
13) Internal circuitry power only 5V DC @ 250mA

These coolers are based on direct expansion type technology with improved evaporator. This is an excellent bulk milk cooler, which helps in improving milk quality by cooling it at collection center itself, before it gets transported to the dairies. With BMC the milk can be chilled to 4°C, in very short duration.

These system of chilling milk works without continuous electricity and generator sets, while factoring the need of collecting milk from thousands of small producers. Results of the refrigeration efficiency are similar to those obtained by other commercial refrigeration facilities powered by a photovoltaic array, including batteries. Besides other advantages of solar powered milk cooling tank includes saving in the cost of DG set, voltage stabilizer, chilling cost, maintenance cost and saving in diesel / fuel cost. Other advantages includes auto stabilization towards grid fluctuation, built in smart water heater and zero emission which keeps clean environment. Government subsidy and interest subsidy is also available which results in tax saving.

The entire solar powered milk cooling tank supplied by Krishna Industries include Milk Cooling Tank, Condensing Unit, SS Milk Pump, Solar PV Panels, Multi Point Power Tracking Module (MPPT) based Inverter, SS 304 Pipe & Fittings, Battery Bank, Electrical & Control Panels and Smart Level Heater. So it’s a complete set required to chill milk in the tank at the procurement level.

Professionally qualified and highly talented design team of Krishna Industries is dedicated to exploring and challenging the frontiers of design, deep research, various testing and committed to delivering aesthetic delight in functional forms and quality to its valued clients all over the world. Our product range includes Milk Cooling Tanks or Bulk Milk Coolers, Smart Level Indicators, Milk Cans, Milk Tanker Security Systems, Milking Machine, Dairy Milking Parlors, Solar Powered Milk Cooling Tank, Containerized Milk Collection Unit, Smart Level Heater etc. Our mission is to work for and with our customers to provide the best solutions for the Dairy Industry. We strive to provide innovative, cost effective and simple solutions making use of latest technology to benefit both the Dairy Farmers and Dairy Plants.

The products offered by Krishna Allied Industries are of high quality, easy to use and clean and can be carried anywhere. You can contact us at http://krishnadairyequipment.wordpress.com/solar-milk-cooler/ or at http://www.dairyequipments.com/solar-milk-cooling-tank.html