Bio-film to protect the dairy industry’s stainless steel

UC researchers developing bio-film to protect the dairy industry’s stainless steel surfaces

July 22, 2013

University of Canterbury (UC) researchers are developing a bio-film that could be used to coat stainless steel surfaces which could save the New Zealand's food production sector a significant fraction of the NZ$300 million a year it spends in cleaning and associated maintenance costs.

The bio-film research is looking for a solution to the problem of bio-fouling by milk proteins.

UC postgraduate student Neha Chandrasekaran says the dairy industry is one of the highest performing sectors in the New Zealand economy, processing more than 13 billion litres of milk every year.

``The main challenge faced by the industry is the fouling on the stainless steel pipelines, equipment and heat exchangers used in milk processing facilities.

``Dairy industry fouling occurs due to deposits from fluids and other milk proteins present in them. There are various factors that cover the cause of fouling on surfaces, especially stainless steel surfaces.

``Fouling of heat exchangers is a serious issue as it reduces heat transfer efficiency, causes contamination for the product and increases pressure drop and, hence, affects the economy of the processing plant.

``In any manufacturing process, the preferred cleaning system is one that meets the product quality criteria at its lowest cost. Fouling-related costs are additional energy, lost productivity, additional equipment, manpower, chemicals and environmental impact. Generally milk fouling is so rapid that heat exchangers must be cleaned every day to maintain production capability and efficiency and meet strict hygiene standards.

``Our research, inspired by marvels of the marine world, is seeking to produce bio-film using synthetic mussel sequences that could be used to coat the stainless steel surfaces and act as a solution to the problem of bio-fouling by milk proteins in particular.’’

Chandrasekaran says initial results of her research, supervised by Professor Conan Fee, could be known late next year.

ENDS

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