Before continuing with my studies, and obtaining a Ph.D in the are of computer vision, I worked for 5 years as an automation engineer, designing, installing and modernizing automation systems. From this point of view this project was getting back to the roots. My father's company refurbished and modified a second hand MVR (mechanical vapor re-compression) evaporator for a Lithuanian dairy. My task was to design the automation system.
Project Details
- Beginning date: April 2014
- Ending date: January 2015
- Client: Vilkyškių pieninė, Lithuania
My Role
My role was to design the complete automation system, including choosing automation components, making a complete set of electrical drawings, programming both the PLC and the HMI systems, and starting up the plant. Details of the control system are as follows:
- Siemens S7 CPU 315-2 PN/DP PLC
- WinCC v7.3 (HMI)
- 100 digital inputs
- 84 digital outputs
- 32 analog input
- 18 analog outputs
Above image shows one of the HMI screens for controlling the evaporator. The system consists of a recipe manager that allows generation of recipes for different products being run on the evaporator.
Evaporator Details
Evaporator details, calculated for whey permeate, are as follows:
- Type of evaporator: multiple effect, MVR
- INPUT: 13000kg/h at 18% (whey permeate)
- OUTPUT: 5850kg/h at 40%
