Mechanical Vapor Recompression - Dairy
Project Number PGE 0705 Organization PG&E End-use Process Sector Commercial, Agricultural Project Year(s) 2007 - 2008Project Summary
The specific objective of the study was to analyze the energy consumption of the mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) milk evaporation system at Humboldt Creamery. The results of the MVR energy consumption rate are compared to the energy consumption of typical multi-effect evaporators. MVR evaporation is a proven, but under-utilized technology that has been in use for decades. The MVR evaporation system at Humboldt Creamery has been operating for over 20 years. This study demonstrates that MVR evaporation consumes less energy than other evaporation technologies, and more importantly is less expensive to operate. Over a 24 hour operating period, the MVR system consumed 5,004 kWh of electricity at a cost of $600. A 5-effect TVR evaporation system would consume approximately 1,716 therms of natural gas in a 24 period at a cost of $1,201. Please note that the operating cost of auxiliary electrical equipment for TVR system is not included in this cost comparison. For more information, please contact the sponsoring organization.