Automatic cream production line

Detailed introduction to the complete production line of cream
Thin cream is a water in oil emulsion dairy product made from fresh cow's milk, which is extracted from milk fat through disc centrifugal separation, standardized blending, sterilization, homogenization, low-temperature maturation, and filling; The production line is divided into three main process routes: pasteurized refrigeration (7-15 days shelf life), ESL extended shelf life, and UHT room temperature sterile (6-9 months). The entire production line is made of fully enclosed 316L stainless steel tubing and is equipped with a CIP/SIP fully automatic cleaning and sterilization system.

1、 Complete process flow mainline
Raw milk acceptance → milk collection and storage → filtered milk → preheating → centrifugal milk fat separation → standardized fat blending → ingredients (stabilizers/emulsifiers, plant mixed cream) → sterilization → homogenization → cooling and aging → intermediate storage → sterile/clean filling → labeling and packaging → cold storage of finished products

2、 Process, equipment, and key control parameters for each section
1. Raw material receiving and pretreatment section
Function: Control the quality of milk sources, remove impurities, somatic cells, and spores
1. Raw material acceptance: testing acidity, fat, protein, freezing point, microorganisms, antibiotics, and unloading after passing the inspection
2. Dual filter (80-120 mesh): removes large particle impurities such as grass and clumps
3. Milk purifier (disc centrifugal milk purifier): with a speed of 6000-8000 r/min, it removes small impurities and somatic cells
4. Raw milk storage tank (insulated sterile milk warehouse): The material is cooled to 2-4 ℃ and stored in a sealed container for ≤ 24 hours
>Supporting equipment: discharge pump, plate heat exchanger, mixing and insulation milk tank, CIP cleaning circuit

2. Preheating and centrifugal separation section (core process of the entire production line)
process parameters
Milk is heated to 50-64 ℃ (optimal separation temperature of 62-64 ℃) through a plate heat exchanger and sent to an airtight disc milk fat separator; By relying on centrifugal force, the material is divided into two streams: cream (high fat phase) and skim milk.
-Fat content of concentrated cream separated from the original: 35% to 42%
-The airtight model can isolate air, inhibit fat oxidation, reduce foam, and protect milk flavor
>Core equipment: disc separator, customized separation unit; Equipped with an online fat detector and a variable frequency flow control system.

3. Standardized fat blending section
Accurately adjust fat concentration according to finished product specifications:
-Baking and whipping cream: 35%? 38% fat
-Cooking light cream (low-fat): 10%? 20% fat
-By using a metering pump to mix concentrated cream and skim milk online, real-time detection of fat values is achieved through automatic closed-loop control; If it is compound cream, add emulsifiers and stabilizers (monoglycerides, carrageenan, etc.) to the ingredient tank to fully dissolve and mix.
>Equipment: ingredient dissolution tank, high-precision sanitary metering pump, online fat analyzer, magnetic stirring tank

4. Sterilization section (three mainstream schemes)
1. Pasteurization (refrigerated fresh cream)
85-90 ℃/15-20 seconds; Plate heat exchanger, energy-saving heat recovery; Finished product cold chain storage 7? 15 days
2. ESL Extended Shelf Life Process
95-110 ℃ short-term sterilization, clean filling, refrigerated for 30-45 days
3. UHT ultra-high temperature sterilization (room temperature light cream)
135-142 ℃/2-4 seconds; Sleeve/plate type ultra-high temperature unit, with sterile filling at the back end, stored at room temperature for 6 hours? 9 months

5. Homogenization section (determines mixing performance, viscosity, stability)
After sterilization, cool down to 45-60 ℃ and enter the high-pressure homogenizer, using two-stage homogenization:
-First level pressure: 80-120 bar (breaking large fat balls)
-Secondary pressure: 15-25 bar (stable emulsion system)
>Process rule: The higher the homogenization pressure, the greater the viscosity; The higher the homogenization temperature, the lower the viscosity of the finished product; Directly affecting the expansion rate and shaping effect, it is a key control point for baking cream.
>Equipment: Double stage high-pressure sanitary homogenizer

6. Cooling and low-temperature maturation (aging process, essential for whipping cream)
After homogenization, quickly heat exchange and cool down to 2-6 ℃, then send it to an aging and maturation tank with low-speed stirring for insulation and standing for 12-24 hours.
Function: Slow crystallization of milk fat, reshaping of fat globule membrane structure, ultimately obtaining excellent beating properties and formability; Untamed cream is poorly whipped and prone to water and collapse.

7. Filling and packaging section
Divided into two packaging systems:
1. Clean filling (Babbitt products): Clean room environment, automatic filling machine, packaging specifications: 1L paper box, 200ml small cup, 10kg/25kg commercial drum
2. Aseptic filling (UHT room temperature products): Aseptic filling machine (Tetra Pak bricks, sterile bags, sterile barrels), the entire filling chamber is pre sterilized with SIP steam (121 ℃), and the entire process is commercially sterile
Supporting equipment: labeling machine, coding machine, packing machine, conveyor assembly line

8. CIP in-situ cleaning&SIP sterilization system
The entire pipeline, milk tank, sterilizer, homogenizer, and filling machine are all automatically cleaned: alkali washing → water washing → acid washing → pure water rinsing; Add pure steam sterilization SIP to the aseptic section to prevent cross contamination and meet the production standards of dairy SC

3、 Reference for capacity classification of the entire production line
1. Small scale experiment/workshop line: 300? 1000 L/h (suitable for laboratory and small factory sampling)
2. Medium sized commercial production line: 2? 10 tons/hour (mainstream configuration in baking raw material factories)
3. Large scale industrial complete production line: 10? 25 tons/hour (large dairy turnkey whole plant project)


Key indicators of product quality (factory inspection)
Fat content, viscosity, swelling rate, standing time, water separation rate, total microbial count, pathogenic bacteria, storage stability.