A total of 115 million kilos of milk weighs in at the Thise dairy every year. The amount of water used for producing milk, cheese and other products adds up to 150,000 cubic meters per year. In addition, the dairy treats an amount of 160,000 cubic meters of wastewater at their own treatment facility every year. Since the dairy pays around 35 Danish kroner for treating one cubic meter of water, the dairy has a great interest in reducing their total water consumption. This is one of the reasons for Thise to join a project called the water efficient dairy which aims to make the participating dairies more competitive through efficient water usage.
Saving time while monitoring consumption
Until recently, the production manager kept track of their water consumption by spending 45 minutes walking around the production facility, manually reading every mechanical water meter and plotting the numbers in a logbook. The data was then transferred to an Excel sheet.
This method quickly proved to be anything but efficient. On top, the Production Manager did not always manage to convert the data into actual water saving initiatives in the production facility. Today, the water consumption is monitored in a far more streamlined and automatic way, just like all other activities at the dairy.
Instantly visible effects
Kamstrup is one of the partners in project the water efficient dairy. 66 water and heat meters were installed, all being remotely read and hosted by Kamstrup.
Kamstrup’s data presentation tool eButler is part of the solution. This means that anybody can get easy access to an overview of all data on water consumption, automatically collected on an hourly basis. This includes all processes in the dairy – from the production facility and packaging hall to the final cleaning of machinery.
Kamstrup is one of the partners in project the water efficient dairy. 66 water and heat meters were installed, all being remotely read and hosted by Kamstrup.
Kamstrup’s data presentation tool eButler is part of the solution. This means that anybody can get easy access to an overview of all data on water consumption, automatically collected on an hourly basis. This includes all processes in the dairy – from the production facility and packaging hall to the final cleaning of machinery.
2/3 savings
“Previously, we used 700 litres of water every hour on water flushing. Now, we use 6000 litres per day. Savings of 2/3 is of course an extreme case. We achieved the savings by installing a regulating valve, which means that the consumption level is now constant. In addition, an alarm is now connected to the system and we are notified if the water flush exceeds 300 litres an hour.” Jens Møibæk, Technical Manager at Thise Dairy
- Jens Møibæk, Technical Manager at Thise Dairy
“Optimisation is interesting and fun when you can see the difference it makes. Furthermore, our organic profile has a perfect fit with a greener energy profile. I personally, have great expectations for us to save large amounts of water at our CIP unit.”
- Jens Møibæk, Technical Manager at Thise Dairy
User-friendly visualisation of consumption makes a difference
Visualisation of consumption is one of the very important benefits the dairy gets with their Kamstrup solution, since it gives them an exact overview of where the dairy can optimise their operations and obtain further savings in their energy and water consumption.
Visualisation of consumption is one of the very important benefits the dairy gets with their Kamstrup solution, since it gives them an exact overview of where the dairy can optimise their operations and obtain further savings in their energy and water consumption.
Concrete savings
On several occasions, eButler has helped to discover costly errors. For example, an error in the boiler station and a defect steam valve, which was letting heat through even when being shut off. The defect steam valve resulted in a factor 7 in heat consumption.
On several occasions, eButler has helped to discover costly errors. For example, an error in the boiler station and a defect steam valve, which was letting heat through even when being shut off. The defect steam valve resulted in a factor 7 in heat consumption.
Easier reporting to authorities
Previously, the dairy had to perform a manual calculation of their consumption, but with the solution from Kamstrup, the documentation process is now much easier to administrate. Not only for the management and employees but also for reporting to the authorities.
Previously, the dairy had to perform a manual calculation of their consumption, but with the solution from Kamstrup, the documentation process is now much easier to administrate. Not only for the management and employees but also for reporting to the authorities.