Optimizing a Disc Stack Separator for Milk and Cream Standardization

Standardized cream requires a target fat content of 35%. This article describes the optimization of operating parameters for a disc stack cream separator to produce standardized cream while minimizing raw material losses and ensuring high quality. Quantitative relationships and mathematical models made it possible to evaluate the combined effects of separation temperature, rotor speed, and milk flow rate on the fat content of both skim milk and cream. Regression models and analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that temperature had the most significant effect and contributed 62.3% to separation efficiency. Optimization using the desirability function yielded the following experimentally verified optimal parameters: 50 °C; 9,000 rpm; 6,000 L/h inlet milk flow rate. Operating under these optimized conditions reduced fat losses to 0.047% and produced cream with the target fat content of 35.2%. These models and optimal separation conditions ensure resource conservation and process stability for manufacturing a wide range of standardized dairy products.