Production de lactose

Highest yield with the best quality

Flottweg decanter for the industrial production of the purest lactose

Lactose, also known as milk sugar, is a sugar that occurs naturally in milk and is a major constituent of whey. Lactose is often used as a sugar supplement in various foods because it is less sweet than normal sugar. In pharmaceuticals, lactose also plays an important role as a binder or filler in tablets. A by-product of the cheese and casein industry, lactose is a valuable product that can be profitably purified and dewatered using industrial centrifuges. A hygienic decanter designed specifically for industrial lactose production can separate purified lactose as a 90% dry solid and feed it directly to the dryer.

Our centrifuges for the production of lactose

How does the process of extracting lactose work?

Lactose is extracted from whey by crystallization, a process affected by several factors including pH, temperature, and composition. As in the production of casein, the manufacture of milk sugar involves several wash steps. The first wash is used to loosen the crystallized lactose from the parent solution. During the second wash, the addition of cold water removes contamination. These are, for example, protein, lactic acid, and minerals. The third wash completes the process and ensures the purest possible end product.

The adapted design of the decanter centrifuges meets both the requirements for hygiene and the highest possible dry solids content. Washing the lactose using the counterflow principle also saves water consumption costs.

Another advantage of the classic decanter process is the very high yield without loss of lactose. The multi-stage lactose wash process and the prolonged retention time in the decanter ensure optimum separation of the milk sugar and a high degree of purification.

Example of lactose extraction process