Tetra Pak Launches Hermetic Direct Driven Dairy Separator

Suitable for all dairy customers with high capacity production, the Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator reduces energy consumption of an overall separation system by up to 35% compared to conventional paring disc separators.

20 Oct 2009 --- Tetra Pak has launched the Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator, the world’s first hermetically sealed direct driven dairy separator.

Suitable for all dairy customers with high capacity production, the Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator reduces energy consumption of an overall separation system by up to 35% compared to conventional paring disc separators and doubles production time between major services compared to belt driven separators.

Said Lars Jacobsson, Managing Director, Tetra Pak Processing Components: “This new generation separator is a further development in our proven Tetra Centri AirTight range of separators. Using a number of breakthrough innovations to deliver higher operational efficiency and lower environmental impact than ever before, the Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator will enable our customers to cut costs and meet the growing environmental demands on their operations.”

The new Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator introduces three innovations: the eDrive system, the eMotion system and the eCon control system. The gearless eDrive is a patented new direct drive system in which the motor is connected to the separator spindle directly and incorporated into the separator bowl without a gear. That increases up-time and reduces costs compared to belt driven separators. With fewer moving parts and less wear and tear, the mechanical simplicity of the eDrive extends production time between major services from 8,000 hours to up to 16,000 hours. It also uses 90% less lubrication oil than previous systems.

The patented eMotion system reduces friction inside the separator, enabling reduced energy loss and thus reducing the energy consumption of the separator itself by over 50%. That translates to an up to 35% reduction in the energy consumption of an overall separation system compared to conventional paring disc separators. Added benefits are the reduction of noise levels by three dB(A) and the reduction of machine surface temperature.

The eCon system is a fully embedded control system, which handles all of the separator’s support functions, such as cooling, lubrication, and discharge. This enables dairies to simplify and improve monitoring, status reporting and reliability of the systems and decreases the number of unplanned stops.

Unique to the TetraCentri AirTight range of separators are the hermetic seals at the inlet and outlet, which prevent the intake and exposure of the product to destructive air. In the Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator, the product is fed smoothly into the separator bowl from the bottom through the new eDrive, which ensures that the size of fat globules and particles is maintained. This is why the separability of fat and impurities and concentration of cream in the Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator is more efficient than in any alternative design on the market.

Backed by Tetra Pak performance guarantees, the Tetra Centri AirTight Eco separator provides dairy customers with a guaranteed production outcome that is pre-defined according to contractual agreements on parameters, such as energy consumption and running times.