Design your oat flour beverage line for better profitability
Reduce consumption of water and electricity while maintaining product quality – increasing the ratio of solids in your oat flour beverage may be a great way to make savings.
We are constantly looking for new ways to make our processes and equipment more efficient and more sustainable – and thereby improve the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for our customers. By using that approach, we came up with a solution to make lines for oat beverages based on flour more sustainable. But before we dive deeper into this innovative concept, let us first unpack TCO.
TCO: what does it mean?
TCO is short for Total Cost of Ownership – a methodology to assess the costs involved during a complete machine life cycle, from purchase to disposal. It is a financial estimate intended to help determine the direct and indirect cost of a solution or piece of equipment.
TCO = The purchase price of an asset + the cost of operation over the asset’s lifespan.
The benefits of increasing solids
When making beverages based on oat flour, the industry standard in extraction is to use approximately 15-16% oat solids in the slurry. But from an efficiency perspective, is this the optimal setup? We brainstormed around various ways to make the solutions more energy-efficient, sustainable and TCO-friendly. Soon, we started to explore the idea of adding more oats and using less water in extraction. Our calculations around increasing oat solids suggested substantial savings and environmental benefits.
At least in theory. When putting the ideas into practice we identified several challenges. Like, how much energy would we need to mix the high-solids slurry? What would the optimal pump size be? And how could we maintain the right separation efficiency in the decanter and the runtime of the heat exchanger?
Fortunately, we have the test facilities where we can find answers to questions like these, and can solve these types of challenges: our pilot plant in Karlshamn, Sweden. This is a “mini factory” sitting in the sweet spot between pilot and commercial scale. It allows us to run tests in a controlled environment – and come up with solutions to the challenges at hand.
We can run tests in a controlled environment - and come up with solutions to the challenges at hand.
We found that it indeed is possible to maintain a good base quality when doubling the oat solids in the slurry. The line operated well with solids at 30% and delivered on the anticipated operational savings. The main benefit, in short, is that this is a great way to maximise efficiency in extraction. The higher ratio of solids reduces the amount of water used in the extraction process. Less water being used equals lower volume of slurry to be handled, heated and cooled. This results in savings on energy, water and capex efficiency.
The solution is already commercially deployed at a few customer sites. We also know that one size not necessarily fits all. Every production line is unique, so we always evaluate on a case-by-case basis. Depending on your current configuration, some adjustments might be needed. Changes to the rheological properties could be a reason for minor design adjustments, such as upgrades of pumps and/or piping. And as the fibre content increases, you may need to expand decanter capacity. On the other hand, the nutritional benefits of a slightly higher fibre content in the liquid base, along with reduced operational costs, could potentially offset a minor taste shift of the final product. Which brings us back to the point that every setup is unique – and that we have the ability to test, try and optimise your solution and recipes at our Product Development Centres (PDCs).
How much can you save?
First of all, it is not just a matter of how much you can save – it is also a question of what you save. Sustainability projects can be very expensive. But in this case, by reducing your consumption of water, electricity and steam, you reduce your environmental impact and save money at the same time. By increasing the solids your line uses less utilities, and our calculations show that this can cut total line operational costs by up to 17%.
So how does it work? A simplified way to put it is that you either use less oat slurry to produce the same amount of end-product as before, or that you use the high-concentrate slurry to increase your production. Here’s a couple of scenarios:
Scenario 1
Here, the line capacity and output remains the same. But since less oat slurry is used, the annual savings amount to ~6 Euro per 1,000 packs *.
| Total solids | Oat slurry | Electricity kWh | Steam kg | Water m3 | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16% | 6 500 kg/h | 45M liters/year | |||
| 30% | 3 460 kg/h | -13% | -25% kg | -3,2% m3 | 45M liters/year |
| An annual saving of €~6 per 1,000 packs | |||||
Scenario 2
In scenario 2, we increase total line capacity to produce more products. A prerequisite is that the downstream setup can handle the increase. The estimated savings here are ~21,7 Euro per 1,000 packs *.
| Total solids | Oat slurry | Electricity kWh | Steam kg | Water m3 | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16% | 8 000 kg/h | 55M liters/year | |||
| 30% | 8 000 kg/h | -25% | -23% kg | -39% m3 | 104M liters/year |
| An annual saving of €~21,7 per 1,000 packs | |||||
*These estimates are based on tests at our pilot plant, and the TCO calculations take both investment and operational costs into account.
To find out more about how much you can save and the best way forward for your oat flour beverage operations, get in touch with us.
Oat – the old favourite
Consumers all over the world enjoy drinking oat beverages on a wide range of occasions. And they will continue to do so.
