Protecting Raw Milk Quality! Milk Cooling Tank

Raw milk immediately after milking (at approximately 38°C, close to the cow's body temperature) is at a high risk for microbial growth. Every hour of delayed cooling can double the bacterial count, leading to not only a loss of flavor and nutrients but also rejection by buyers due to substandard quality, resulting in direct economic losses for dairy farms, milk stations, and dairy companies. Traditional cooling methods (such as ice water immersion and natural cooling) are either inefficient and inaccurate in temperature control, or energy-intensive and prone to contamination, making them unable to meet the core requirements of "freshness" and "stability" in modern dairy production.

The Milk Cooling Tank, with its core advantages of "rapid cooling + precise temperature control + safe storage," serves as a "preservation barrier" for raw milk from milking to processing. It can reduce the temperature of raw milk to the critical point of microbial reproduction (below 4°C) in a short period of time and store it at a constant temperature. This not only ensures the quality of the milk, but also reserves sufficient time for subsequent processing (such as pasteurization and cheese making). It is an "essential freshness-locking equipment" for ranches, milk stations, and small and medium-sized dairy factories.

I. How do milk cooling tanks achieve "Quickly Lock in Freshness + Safe Storage"?

The operating principle of a milk cooling tank is designed around the entire process of "cooling - temperature control - milk storage." Through the coordinated operation of modular components, it precisely matches the characteristics of raw milk, preventing local temperature differences, contamination, or nutrient loss during the cooling process. This process is divided into three core stages:

1. Milk Inflow Buffering: Gentle Reception to Prevent Shock and Spoilage

When raw milk is piped or manually injected into the cooling tank, buffering devices within the tank (such as deflectors and anti-splash nozzles) initially disperse the milk flow, preventing excessive contact with air caused by high-speed milk inflow and reducing the risk of oxidation and spoilage. Simultaneously, a pre-cooling layer within the tank (available on some models) initially reduces the milk temperature from 38°C to around 20°C, reducing the burden on the subsequent deep cooling process. This prevents the refrigeration system from frequently starting and stopping due to large temperature differences, thereby extending the life of the equipment.

2. Core Cooling: Reducing to a "Safe Temperature" within 30 Minutes

After initial pre-cooling, the milk enters the deep cooling stage, a critical step in preserving freshness. This process relies on the synergy of the "refrigeration system + heat exchange components + stirring device":

Refrigeration system: Utilizes compression refrigeration to rapidly generate low-temperature refrigerant;

Heat exchange components: A jacket layer on the inner wall of the tank or a built-in plate heat exchanger efficiently exchanges heat between the refrigerant and the milk. The low-temperature refrigerant circulates within the jacket, rapidly absorbing heat from the milk;

Stirring device: Continuously operating a low-speed stirring paddle ensures uniform flow of milk within the tank, preventing uneven cooling caused by partial sinking.

This combination allows milk to cool from 20°C to below 4°C within 30 minutes, directly reducing microbial growth by over 90%, thereby firmly locking in the freshness and nutrients of the raw milk.

3. Constant Temperature Storage: Continuous Temperature Control Extends Shelf Life

Once the milk temperature stabilizes at 4°C, the cooling tank automatically switches to constant temperature storage mode.

A temperature sensor inside the tank monitors the milk temperature in real time. If it exceeds 5°C, the refrigeration system automatically activates to bring the temperature back to 4°C. If it falls below 3°C, heating is activated to compensate, allowing for precise temperature control within ±0.5°C.

The tank's double-layer insulation effectively isolates the milk from external heat, reducing the frequency of refrigeration system activation and energy consumption even in high-temperature environments.

During storage, the agitator operates intermittently to prevent fat from rising and stratifying, ensuring consistent milk quality during subsequent processing.

II. Addressing Industry Pain Points: The Six Core Advantages of Milk Cooling Tanks

Each of these advantages precisely addresses the shortcomings of traditional cooling methods, creating value for users across four dimensions: cost reduction, quality improvement, compliance, and convenience:

1. Efficient Cooling: Seizing the "Microbial Growth Window"

Traditional ice-water immersion cooling takes 2-3 hours to cool milk to 4°C, while milk cooling tanks complete the process in just 30-45 minutes, significantly shortening the "high-risk period." For example, a 10-ton cooling tank can process three batches of raw milk daily. Compared to traditional methods, the loss rate due to spoilage per batch is reduced from 5% to less than 1%, saving over one ton of raw material waste annually.

2. Precise Temperature Control: Complies with national standards and avoids quality fluctuations.

Raw milk should be cooled to 0-4°C within two hours after milking. The milk cooling tank's temperature control error is ≤±0.5°C, ensuring the milk maintains an optimal storage temperature of 3-4°C. This prevents bacterial growth and flavor degradation caused by temperature fluctuations, ensuring the milk meets the quality standards of the buyer or its own processing facility.

3. Energy Saving and Consumption Reduction: Energy savings of over 30% compared to traditional cooling methods.

Inverter Design: The compressor and agitator motors of some models utilize inverter technology, automatically adjusting power based on milk temperature (e.g., requiring only 50% power during the constant temperature phase), avoiding energy waste from full-load operation.

Insulation and Energy Saving: The double-layer polyurethane insulation has a thermal conductivity as low as 0.024W/(m·K), minimizing the impact of external temperature fluctuations on the tank interior. The refrigeration system activates 60% less per day than traditional non-insulated tanks, resulting in annual energy savings of 2,000-5,000 kWh.

4. Safety and Compliance: Materials and Design Meet Regulatory Requirements

Food-Grade Materials: The tank's inner wall and agitator are constructed of 304 stainless steel, complying with GB 4806.9 food contact material standards. They contain no heavy metals and prevent milk contamination.

Traceability: Equipped with an intelligent control system, it automatically records the tanking time, cooling temperature, and storage time of each batch of milk, generating electronic reports that can be exported and easily accessed during regulatory inspections, eliminating compliance risks.

5. Easy Cleaning and Maintenance: Reduces labor and prevents cross-contamination.

CIP Compatibility: The tank's inner wall is mirror-polished, eliminating welded corners and allowing direct integration with the CIP Cleaning-in-Place (CIP) system. A spray ball inside the tank provides 360° flushing, completing the cleaning process in under an hour, eliminating the need for manual wiping.

Easy Maintenance: Core components are modular in design, allowing for individual replacement without disassembly. The device also features built-in fault alarms, reducing manual inspection costs.

6. Flexible Adaptability: From farms to factories, covering all scenarios

Milk cooling tanks can be customized for any scale:

Farms/milking stations: Choose from mobile or fixed models with capacities ranging from 500L to 5 tons, supporting manual feeding and suitable for distributed milking scenarios.

Small and medium-sized dairy plants: Choose from continuous milking models with capacities ranging from 10 to 20 tons, compatible with milking machine pipelines for seamless milking and cooling operations.

Special needs: Add-on heating (for preheating before pasteurization) and weighing modules are supported to meet diverse production needs.

III. Industry Adaptation Solutions for Milk Cooling Tanks

While the core needs of different users vary, milk cooling tanks offer targeted solutions, serving as a "guardian of raw milk quality":

Large-scale dairy farms: Through "continuous cooling + constant temperature storage," they can process dozens of tons of raw milk daily, avoiding price reductions caused by untimely cooling.

Small dairy stations: Mobile cooling tanks can be flexibly deployed to different milking locations, eliminating the need for fixed cooling plants and reducing initial investment costs.

Dairy factories: The constant temperature storage function of the cooling tanks can extend the shelf life of milk to 72 hours, providing buffer time for factories to adjust production plans and avoiding production interruptions caused by raw material deterioration.

In the increasingly competitive dairy industry, "freshness" has long become a core competitive advantage for product differentiation—and Weishu milk cooling tanks are the first line of defense in protecting this "freshness." It not only solves the pain points of traditional cooling methods such as low efficiency, high cost, and difficulty in compliance, but also lays a foundation for high-quality raw materials for subsequent processing links through precise temperature control and safe storage, helping companies take the initiative in "quality competition."

A must-have for food and pharmaceutical factories! Stainless steel mixing tanks

 In the production processes of industries like food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and daily chemicals, material mixing is a critical step in determining product uniformity and quality stability. Traditional mixing equipment often faces problems such as rust, uneven mixing leading to product scrap, and difficulty in cleaning leading to cross-contamination. This not only increases production costs but can also violate regulatory compliance requirements.

 

Stainless steel mixing tanks, with their core advantages of "food-grade materials + efficient mixing + compliant design," are the preferred equipment for solving the pain points of material mixing. They not only adapt to the mixing needs of diverse materials, but also safeguard production operations with stable performance and safe materials. They are crucial equipment for improving efficiency and quality in modern factories.

 

1. How do stainless steel mixing tanks achieve "uniform and safe mixing"?

The operating principle of the stainless steel mixing tank is centered around "precise speed control + multi-dimensional mixing + safe temperature control." Through the coordinated operation of modular components, the entire process, from material input to complete mixing, is fully controllable. This process can be divided into four key stages:

 

1. Material Input: Sealed material input prevents contaminants from entering the tank through the sealed top inlet (which can be equipped with a vacuum or manual feeding device). The inlet is equipped with a dust cover or sterile valve to prevent the entry of airborne impurities and microorganisms. Liquid materials can also be directly piped, minimizing human contact and reducing the risk of contamination.

 

2. Core Mixing: Adapting to the material for uniform mixing. The core components of the tank are the impeller and variable frequency motor: The motor drives the impeller, and different impeller types are selected based on material characteristics (such as viscosity and particle size). The speed is adjusted via variable frequency (50-1500 rpm) to ensure vertical convection and circular motion of the material within the tank, preventing uneven mixing. Some models are also equipped with deflectors to further break up material vortices and improve mixing efficiency.

 

3. Temperature and Pressure Control: A stable environment ensures quality. For materials requiring temperature control, the tank is jacketed with a layer that allows steam heating or cold water cooling. The temperature control system precisely controls the tank interior temperature within ±1°C. If materials require mixing at a specific pressure (e.g., vacuum degassing or pressure reaction), the tank can adjust the pressure between 0.1-0.6 MPa to prevent oxidation or deterioration.

 

4. Discharge and Cleaning: Convenient operation and zero residue. After mixing, materials are quickly discharged through the bottom discharge port, which is tightly connected to the pipeline to prevent material retention. A CIP (cleaning in place) cleaning system can be used for cleaning, using spray balls inside the tank for 360° flushing. The interior wall is polished (Ra ≤ 0.8μm) to eliminate dead corners and prevent cross-contamination between batches.

 

II. Five Core Advantages of Stainless Steel Mixing Tanks

The advantages of stainless steel mixing tanks precisely match businesses' needs for "safety, efficiency, compliance, and durability," fundamentally addressing the shortcomings of traditional mixing equipment:

 

1. Material Safety: Food-grade stainless steel, no leaching and no contamination.

The tank body is made of 304 stainless steel (for the general food and beverage industry) or 316L stainless steel (for high-corrosion applications such as pharmaceuticals and chemicals), offering three key characteristics:

 

Corrosion Resistance: Resistant to corrosive materials such as acids, alkalis, and saline solutions, it remains rust-free and non-flaking over long-term use.

 

No Leaching: The material meets food safety standards, eliminating the release of heavy metals and harmful substances, ensuring product safety.

 

Easy Cleaning: The smooth surface prevents buildup of materials, leaving no residue after cleaning and preventing cross-contamination.

 

2. Efficient Mixing: Adapts to a variety of materials, reducing scrap rates.

The equipment provides customized mixing based on the material characteristics of different industries:

 

Low-viscosity materials (such as juice and beverages): Use a paddle-type impeller at a speed of 1000-1500 rpm, achieving over 99% mixing uniformity.

 

High-viscosity materials (such as jam): Use an anchor-type impeller with a scraping design to prevent sticking and reduce mixing time by 30%.

 

Solid-liquid mixing (such as dissolving milk powder and mixing additives): Use a turbine-type impeller to generate strong shear forces, quickly dispersing solid particles and preventing clumping.

 

Efficient mixing reduces product scrap due to uneven mixing and reduces costs for businesses.

 

3. Compliant Design: Meets industry standards, easily navigating regulatory requirements.

The equipment design fully complies with the compliance requirements of the food and pharmaceutical industries:

No blind spots: No weld gaps or protrusions inside the tank, preventing material stagnation.

Surface polish: The interior and exterior surfaces are mirror-polished, meeting sterility and easy-to-clean requirements.

 

4. Durability and Easy Maintenance: Low long-term operating costs.

Stainless steel mixing tanks offer significant durability advantages over traditional carbon steel or plastic mixing tanks:

Long Service Life: The stainless steel main body is resistant to aging and, with normal maintenance, can last 10-15 years, far exceeding the 3-5 years of plastic tanks.

Simple Maintenance: Consumable parts such as the agitator and seals can be replaced individually without disassembling the entire machine. The motor is explosion-proof or waterproof, minimizing failure rates and reducing downtime for repairs.

 

5. Flexible Customization: Adaptable to different production capacities, with room for upgrades.

The equipment supports full-scenario customization, meeting the needs of small workshops to large factories:

Capacity Customization: From small 50L laboratory tanks to large 50,000L production tanks, you can choose based on production capacity;

Functional Expansion: Weighing modules, liquid level sensors, and sterile sampling ports can be added;

Modular Design: As production capacity increases, the number of agitators and the jacket temperature control range can be expanded without having to replace the entire system, reducing initial investment.

 

III. Industry Adaptability: The Scenario-Specific Value of Stainless Steel Mixing Tanks

 

While the needs of mixing tanks vary across industries, stainless steel mixing tanks offer targeted solutions, becoming the core hub of the production process:

 

Food and Beverage Industry: Used for blending juices, boiling jams, and mixing dairy products. 304 stainless steel ensures food safety, and uniform mixing ensures consistent taste.

 

Pharmaceutical Industry: Used for preparing liquid medicines and mixing ointments. 316L stainless steel resists corrosion, meets aseptic requirements, and prevents contamination of liquid medicines.

 

Chemical Industry: Used for mixing coatings and adhesives. Explosion-proof motors and corrosion-resistant materials are compatible with chemical materials, and temperature control ensures stable reactions.

 

Household Chemical Industry: Used for blending laundry detergents and skincare products. Agitators prevent foaming, and polished interiors ensure residue-free production, guaranteeing product purity.

 

With companies currently pursuing consistent quality, compliance, and efficiency, stainless steel mixing tanks are no longer just "ordinary equipment" but a fundamental component for enhancing product competitiveness. It not only addresses the pain points of traditional mixing equipment, such as pollution, inefficiency, and fragility, but also adapts to industry development needs through customized design and compliance features, reducing costs and mitigating risks for long-term business development.

 

If your factory is still struggling with uneven material mixing, equipment contamination, and regulatory compliance difficulties, choosing Weishu's stainless steel mixing tanks can transform the material mixing process from a "hazard" to a "advantage," laying a solid foundation for product quality and production efficiency.