September 12, 2018

Orgatreatments, India’s first citrus feed mill, is now successfully producing dried peel for animal feed. Located in the central part of the country near Nanded, this feed mill is a joint venture between Remondis, a very large family-owned German company, and an investment associate.

Remondis was started in Germany at around same time as Vincent. The company has a presence in Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa, with focus on waste management and water treatment.

Orgatreatments handles the peel side of things, while the parent company deals with the water side. Peel is trucked from Citrus Processing India, the largest juice processing facility in the country, located about 3 kilometers away.

The citrus processing portion of Citrus Processing India is outfitted by JBT, and includes a grading table, JBT sizer, and six 291/391 JBT extractors equipped with oil recovery sprays. A new Alfa-like desludger and an older Alfa-like polisher receive the resulting oil emulsion.

Citrus Processing India also puts up pulp cells, and debitters and concentrates juice with a Bucher Alimentech debittering column system and 6 stage/2 effect evaporator. This processor has tank farm and cold storage capacity, and a well- equipped and staffed QC lab. QC and Production work together to measure and track incoming fruit juice content, oil content, production yields, and product quality parameters.

The new India feed mill is designed to process 5 to 6 metric tons of peel per hour, using the conventional method of hydrated lime addition. Limed peel is shredded by a Vincent VS-12 shredder and progresses through a series of reaction conveyors before single pressing by a Vincent KP-12L screw press.

Currently, press liquor goes to an onsite water treatment facility, while pressed peel is dried with a steam drum dryer that runs the length of the main building. A Thermax boiler, modeled after Babcock and Wilcox units, provides the steam.

At the present time, the dried peel is not pelletized.

This facility was planned for easy conversion to pectin peel production. Wash/hold tanks have already been installed at the end of each reaction conveyor, and room has been left for static screens or screw presses between stages.

To date, the new India feed mill has processed peel from both Mandarins and India sweet lime.

It is no mystery as to the domestic market for their dried peel, as in India there are cows all over the place.

VINCENT PEEL SHREDDER

VINCENT SCREW PRESS

PRESS LIQUOR AT START-UP

PRODUCTION CREW

Issue #309