Miller Magazine Issue: 126 June 2020

69 ARTICLE MILLER / JUNE 2020 68 MILLER / JUNE 2020 “Every miller knows that it is the quality of what goes in that counts. That is why cleaning grain is one of the most important steps in the milling process. Removing impurities makes the biggest difference to the quality of the final flour and makes an essential contribution to ensuring food safety. Vitaris is a modular system from Bühler that enables the miller to achieve a high- quality final product reliably and efficiently.” Vitaris – a modular system for the best grain cleaning Milling plays an essential role in the food va- lue chain by grinding grain so that its nutrients can be more easily digested. Taking grain and turning it into flour has been the miller’s job for thousands of years. But as simple as the basic process of grinding may sound, achieving a hi- gh-quality final product requires skill, experien- ce and sophisticated machinery. When wheat and other grains arrive at the mill, they contain many different types of im- purities that have entered the mix at different stages. Metal, stones, weeds, other grains and general debris can all become part of the mix during growth, harvest, storage, and transpor- tation. During the growing season, for examp- le, too much rain can cause the wheat to be- come moldy or it might be attacked by insects and diseases. Shrunken, broken, diseased and damaged grains have to be removed. If these impurities are left in the mix, it will affect the quality and odor of the final flour and may pose Sabrina Würsch Product Management Milling Solutions Wheat & Rye Bühler AG in Uzwil / Switzerland sabrina.wuersch@buhlergroup.com a health risk. Certain impurities also affect machine efficiency. Cleaning is therefore an essential step in the milling process and one that, ulti- mately, has the most significant impact on the quality of the flour. Removing each of these different types of impurity requires a different process – and therefore a dif- ferent type of machi- ne. A separator takes out the overs, a con- centrator sorts light and heavy fractions, an aspiration channel takes out the lights in the light fraction, a destoner separates according to specific weight. Each of the- se machines takes up space in the mill and has its own energy requirements. What is more, as every batch of grain is dif- ferent, each machine has to be fine-tuned for each batch – not just once, but over and over again. With the Vitaris, Bühler introduces the first modular cleaning system on the market. Consisting of four com- binable machines, the system guarantees highest food safety while providing optimal performance and minimal space requirements. In combination with energy saving technology, the Vitaris cleaning system is built with ad- vanced sustainability standards in mind. One for all, all for one As standalone modules each machine performs a speci- fic task in the grain cleaning cycle removing and separa- ting fine and course particles and impurities. Each of them meets the highest standards in food safety, quality, energy efficiency, space efficiency and maintenance. Millers can deploy individual machines or add and combine machines from the start or at a later stage, according to their in- dividual requirements. With the machines combined, the finely tuned cleaning system reveals its full strength. Reducing cost by saving space and energy Space is a very valuable resource in the compact set- up of modern mills. As every square meter on a mill’s floor rep- resents a significant cost, space must be used efficiently. Op- timal machine perfor- mance and efficiency while keeping space requirements to an absolute minimum are key to reducing fixed cost. With an unri- valled small physical footprint, Bühler’s overall cleaning sys- tem, as well as each individual component deliver the most space efficient solution ava- ilable on the market. This was achieved by designing smart machine layouts in which individual ele- ments and compo- nents are stacked ver- tically. In addition, con- sumption of fresh air was reduced in a ver- sion that recirculates air. Advanced air-re- cycling technology re- duces the amount of fresh air needed by up to 90% and, subsequently, reduces the overall filter surface and thus maintenance thereof. Instead of manually regulating the air flow by flaps, adjustments are performed via electrical frequency converters saving up to 15% of energy. Fast commissioning All machines within the system are prewired. Conne- cted to the plant’s power supply at one central point no additional cabling is required and installation costs are kept to a minimum. Overview: the Vitaris cleaning system is comprised of four machines: • Air-recycling aspirator MVST for removal of dust and light particles before cleaning • Separator MTRD for sorting course materials from fine particles • Combistoner MTCH for removal of impurities with a higher specific weight and classification of grain into high-density and heavy fractions • Recycling air aspirator MVSS for removal of fine im- purities and dust Vitaris – a modular system for the best grain cleaning