Every level of our business is influenced by the ideal we work towards: a Natural Evolution. In our production, in our distribution, and within our own company, the natural choice is our first priority.
Waste water turned into biogas
A new, innovative method of purifying the waste water that comes from processing milk is being used at Hobro Mejeri in Denmark. This is achieved with the help of a BioBooster. One of the by-products of the purification process is environmentally-friendly biogas.
Nutrients must be removed
Water is used when the milk we drink is processed. Among other things, water it is used to transport milk from the tank to the filling machine. This process results in milk residue in the water which cannot be dis
charged in the drainage system directly.
Milk and t waste water containing milk residue, is rich in nutrients and, as oxygen is required to break down nutrients, it could lead to deoxygenation in the environment if it were discharged untreated.
Waste water must therefore be purified before it is discharged. As the nutrients are dissolved in water they cannot be removed by simply filtering the waste water. The BioBooster, a biological water purifying plant, solves this problem.
"The BioBooster contains a culture of bacteria that eats the nutrients when the water is directed through it. The bacteria can then be easily filtered from the water and, as the nutrients are contained in the ‘stomachs’ of the bacteria, the result is sludge and water that is no dirtier than waste water from an ordinary household. This waste water can therefore be discharged straight into the municipal water purifying plant," explains Torben Slots, QEHS Manager at Hobro Mejeri.
Sludge can also be used
But the BioBooster does far more than purify waste water.
"The sludge is then fed into a tank and sent to Lemvig Biogas, where it is used in their biogas production. Our future goal is to be able to use it ourselves," says Torben Slots.
Arla is now collaborating with Grundfos to work together to turn the sludge into organic fuel or what is known as biodiesel.
"In this way we can turn our own waste water into electricity that we can use to run our machines or even into environmentally-friendly fuel for our heavy goods vehicles," says Torben Slots.
- Hobro Mejeri produces drinking milk, including Arla Ekspres® and Harmonie®. Each year, 156 million kilograms of milk are processed at the dairy.
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The installation of the BioBooster at Hobro Mejeri not only means cleaner waste water, it also benefits Arla financially. Previously, Arla paid Hobro Municipality a special fee for handling its waste water, but by cleaning the water in-house, Arla saved just under DKK 2 million in 2007.
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Environmentally-friendly production of milk powder
Producing food products requires energy and creates waste water – and milk powder is no exception. Therefore, constant attempts are made to find new methods of reducing the environmental impact of Arla's milk powder factory at Vimmerby, Sweden. All of the water from production is directed into filter beds and the energy supply for production comes almost exclusively from a biofuel station that burns bark and wood chips from trees in the surroundings.
"Mother Nature 'cleans' all of our waste water in the filter beds andthe use of biofuel means our production is CO2 neutral. We can avoid using chemicals to clean the condensed water and our fuel consumption is more environmentally-friendly than if we used fossil fuels such as gas or oil," explains Pär Bragsjö, Process, Technology and Development Manager at the milk powder factory.
Biodegradable condensed water
The filter beds , which take up a considerable amount of space, were established when the milk powder factory was built in 2004. Thoughout the year , up to 26,000 cubic metres of water from production is directed into the filter bed plants. Pär Bragsjö explains how this is done.
This help sees the water first being cooled in a special cooling dam before being directed through a 400-metre pipeline to the filter beds that are filled with rushes, which help to quicken the organic degrading process that begins.
"When the biodegradable material arrives at the filter beds, a natural biological process begins which cleans the water before it is directed through a series of dikes into a nearby watercourse," relates Pär Bragsjö.
New measures
Work is currently being carried out at the milk powder factory to find a solution that will make it possible to recycle some of the water from the production process so that it can be used for cleaning, for instance, and other processes that require a lot of water. Another goal is to exclusively use biofuel.
"We carry out 95 per cent of production with the help of biofuel, but we want to get up to 100 per cent.," concludes Pär Bragsjö.
- Water is produced when milk is evaporated so it can be turned into milk powder.
- Constructing the filter beds was costly however the day-to-day costs are low as the filter beds work without the help of pumps, unlike a normal water purifying plant. This means that Arla saves money in the longer term.
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Craftsmanship with the help of shirtsleeves and caves
Technology and craftsmanship go hand in hand when we make our products at the dairy. Craftsmanship makes it possible for us to continually achieve high standards in flavour and quality – and there are many good examples of this.
It is more than 130 years since Danish butter first found its way to Great Britain and the lur logo, which later became the trademark Lurpak®, was registered in 1901. Arla Buko® green cheese was first made in a basement in Copenhagen as early as the beginning of the 1930s, and the Swedish cheese Arla Kvibille® Cheddar has been made since 1928 in accordance with a unique recipe and traditional craftsmanship.
Muslin protects the cheese
Cheddar cheese has roots in the Middle Ages and takes its name from Cheddar, a small town in Great Britain, and today is the world's most frequently produced cheese. Arla's well-matured variety – the Swedish Arla Kvibille® Cheddar – can be recognised by the muslin it is wrapped in and its special flavour and texture.
Legend has it that the cheese-maker had to sacrifice his shirtsleeves when he created this particular type of cheese. Kvibille® Cheddar is still wrapped in muslin by hand and this functions as a guarantee of quality from Kvibille Mejeri, the only producer of Swedish Cheddar. The cheese is still known as ’shirt cheese’ in and around Kvibille.
Maturing for an even better flavour
Today, we mature our Cheddar for twelve to fourteen months, so that the flavour has time to develop and become even more full-bodied and aromatic.
Where maturing and flavour are concerned, Klovborg® is one of Denmark's most familiar cheeses. Its slogan is ’A Klovborg® cheese takes the time a Klovborg® cheese must take’. The cheese should be served at room temperature and is made in traditional, open cheese vats and salted in brine in accordance with a time-honoured recipe.
Another Danish cheese – that is known as Grubeost – is matured in limestone caves in Jutland and has been a great export success in countries such as Germany. Thanks to their constant temperature and humidity, the caves are as close as it is possible to get to a perfect cheese store.
How Klovborg® is produced
- Cheese is made at Klovborg Mejeri in cheese vats, in the same way as it has always been made. The cheese-maker cuts the curds into cubes.
- The cheese is salted in the open brine vats. The recipe for the brine dates back to 1959.
- After being salted, ’red putty’ (a species of bacteria culture) is spread on the cheese to add even more flavour.
- The cheeses are checked every day to ensure they are maturing as they should. They are sampled and evaluated every Wednesday. This makes it possible to produce the same, delicious cheeses every time.
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