Product category:
Brewing, Drink and Dairy Processing News
News Release from: APV
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 July 2003
New Danish Lysine production plant for
Agroferm
Invensys APV, the food process equipment, engineering and automation supplier, has been awarded a USD 12m contract to install a new lysine production plant at the Agroferm Esbjerg site
Invensys APV, a supplier of process equipment, engineering and automation control to the food processing industry has been awarded a contract valued at approximately USD 12m to install a new lysine production plant at the Agroferm Esbjerg site In meeting the technical challenges involved in large scale Lysine production, APV have incorporated the expertise of other Invensys businesses, with Foxboro technology being used to control the overall batch process
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 10 Jan 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
A new standard in automatic bulk butter packing
The new FMG range of bulk butter packing lines from APV in Silkeborg, Denmark is ideal for small, medium and large-scale carton filling applications in the dairy and food industries
Norwegian cheese producer chooses APV
Synnove Finden ASA, the Norwegian food company, has placed an order with APV for over USD1.5m to expand the company's cheese-making plant in Alvdal, using the latest diary process equipment
"In making the decision to award the contract we were impressed by the total solution offering made by Invensys APV and their proven track record in the food processing industry" says Benny Mai, Technical Manager at Agroferm.
Lysine is an amino acid, a critical ingredient used within the production of feed mixes for pigs and chickens.
The new plant plans an annual production of 12,500 tonnes, which will make Agroferm the largest Lysine producer in Northern Europe.
Further reading
Improved product quality at the Pernod plant
APV France, an operating unit of Invensys, has commissioned a major process and automation project at the Thuir plant in France where Pernod manufactures its Suze aperitif, improving plant capacity
Economically priced pump for hygienic applications
APV is pleased to announce the launch of its new, competitively priced hygienic pump, known as the AB Pump, designed for use in the dairy, food, beverage and brewing industries
APV sterilisation techniques improve UHT quality
The Instant Infusion System from Invensys APV can help to kill a substantially greater number of bacteria spores than other processes used for the heat treatment of formula milk and milk concentrates
The production of Lysine is a complex process and one that makes very stringent demands regarding sterility of both the plant and the raw ingredients themselves.
As Lysine is produced by bacteriological fermentation, the "environment" in which the fermentation takes place must be precisely controlled in order to comply with rigorous product quality standards dictated by Agroferm.
The quantity of the batch product is extremely large with the fermentation vessel having a capacity of 350 cubic metres: similar to those used for the production of enzymes and insulin.
As APV have supplied all instrumentation, utility supply as well as the control system for the fermenters, the company can ensure that the Agroferm rigorous product quality standards are maintained, helping to optimise process control, recipe handling and material tracking.
The scope of the APV work includes the following processes: raw material intake and storage, raw material sterilisation units, salt dissolving units, evaporation as well as final product tanks for dry and liquid products.
As part of the APV commitment to provide customers with added value, a detailed pre-design study was commissioned to determine which parts of the existing plant could be reused in order to help generate project savings.
It proved possible to utilise the spray drying equipment, and the existing automation control was integrated into an APV system.
In addition, various parts of the complex production process were tested, including product sterilisation, evaporation and spray drying.
The results of these comprehensive tests allowed APV to establish the production parameters necessary to produce sufficient Lysine for the Agroferm trials programme, which involved feed trials on pigs and chickens to gain approval for this type of lysine production.
Control of the process is critical to optimise product quality and production throughput.
The APV deep understanding of food industry processing has been coupled with Foxboro expertise in batch control.
The Foxboro Batch Control System was specified, working in concert with Foxboro Micro I/A controllers to provide distributed field intelligence.
The principle communication protocols are ProfiBus and ASI-Bus.
In addition to the control room, the control of the process has been "pushed out" into the plant through the use of FoxView operator stations, which provide the means to operate and supervise the batch process.
In order to provide "global" control, the system will be designed according to the S88 standard, specified for the management of all material handling, batch control and the tracking of all production batches from raw materials to end product.
The installation of the project will begin in November 2003 and is scheduled for completion in August 2004 when the first product trial will take place.
This contract award follows a long and successful relationship between Agroferm and APV where both product quality and engineering expertise have been continually proven.
• APV: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Processingtalk email newsletter
• Processingtalk Home Page

