SWITZERLAND – Tetra Pak has unveiled its ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ program, a comprehensive approach to optimizing energy, water, and cleaning-in-place (CIP) processes in food and beverage (F&B) factories.
This new offering within Tetra Pak’s sustainability portfolio aims to help F&B producers reduce resource consumption, meet sustainability goals, and lower operational costs.
F&B producers, traditionally reliant on fossil fuels and energy-intensive processes, face increasing pressure to optimize resources and shift to renewable energy sources.
Rising operational expenses, including raw material costs and new CO2 taxes, further challenge these businesses.
Tetra Pak’s ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ addresses these issues by integrating state-of-the-art technologies and advanced plant integration capabilities to optimize energy, water, and chemical usage.
The program’s systematic, factory-wide approach can be implemented at any stage to recover and reduce resource consumption, thereby lowering long-term operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The solutions also ensure compliance with stringent sustainability standards.
The ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ team works closely with customers to identify the right technologies and integration solutions for their needs.
This results in customized diagrams that optimize water, energy, and CIP processes.
Key technologies included in the program are nanofiltration, which reclaims caustic cleaning liquid used for CIP, allowing for up to 90% recovery of spent liquid; reverse osmosis, which improves resource efficiency in applications such as milk separation and water re-use; HighLift™ heat pump technology, developed in collaboration with Olvondo Technology A/S, which facilitates the reuse of waste heat to produce steam across plant equipment; high-temperature heat pumps, in collaboration with Johnson Controls, which up-cycle process waste heat for use elsewhere in the factory; and solar thermal collectors, in collaboration with Absolicon, which utilize solar energy to power hot water and steam delivery suitable for UHT applications.
Stefano Vittor, CEO of Olvondo Technology A/S, highlighted the collaboration’s impact, stating that incorporating HighLift heat pump technology helps reduce carbon emissions across the food and beverage industry.
Fredrik Norrbom, Director at Johnson Controls System and Service AB, emphasized the importance of heat pumps in increasing energy efficiency and delivering net zero heating when combined with renewable electricity.
Nicole Uvenbeck, Director of Factory Sustainable Solutions at Tetra Pak, expressed excitement about the launch, noting that the holistic approach to optimization at the factory level will help customers achieve their sustainability ambitions while reducing operational costs.
Fiona Liebehenz, Vice President of Key Components at Tetra Pak, added that understanding customer needs allows Tetra Pak to provide fit-for-purpose equipment, delivering tangible improvements and financial advantages.
The ‘Factory Sustainable Solutions’ program launches globally today, with plans for continued development and expansion in response to evolving customer needs.
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