Materials their Characteristics and Selection of Equipment

Equipment and machineries used for milk handling processing plant require special characteristics. They are required to handle and process an edible food material and hence should not react with it. They are required to work under hot and humid environment, hence, should be non-corrosive. They are also required to handle chemicals during washing, hence, should have enough protection against any damage.

Milk utensils in our villages are commonly made of earthenware or they are zinc plated or galvanized iron or made of brass, or copper. Modern dairy utensils are,however, made of tinned iron, aluminum alloys, or stainless steel. The product contact surfaces are increasingly being made of stainless steel (common 18-8 stainless steel refers to 18% Chromium and 8% Nickel).

The final choice will, however, depend on the ease of fabrication, availability and the overall cost. From the point of fabrication, the machinability and weld ability are the main factors and, therefore, should be kept in mind. Other properties like specific weight of the material, thermal conductivity and expansion, resistance to corrosion, brittleness and hardness are also important. All of these have bearing on the selection.