An experience of AMUL- The Taste of India

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EDUCATIONAL VISIT REPORT
AMUL DAIRY,TOKHARE VILLAGE,VIRAR(EAST)


16th Jan. 2020,Amul Dairy,Virar: The visit to Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) as per the curriculum requirement for TYBSc Biotechnology was fulfilled and the students of both SY and TYBSc Biotechnology of Vartak College, Vasai got an oppurtunity to simultaneously experience the Industry and ETP of Amul Dairy,Tokhare Village,Virar (E). On arriving at the venue at 12.00 pm, we were first lead to the Discussion Room were we saw the entire journey of how AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) was formed,the White Revolution in India to the complete processing of milk to various delicious and high-standard range of products AMUL processes, the tetrapacks, distribution, marketing and public reviews through a short documentary. Next,we were lead to various processing and testing departments in the plant.


The first introduced  were the RMST (Raw Milk Storage Tanks) and PMST (Pasteurized Milk Storage Tanks). The Virar plant has 5 such tanks with a capacity of 1,50,000 litres each! The milk is obtained from Pune and Anand and is first stored in the RMST. After pasteurization,the milk is transferred to the washed and sterilized PMST, from which it is further processed according to need.The complete process of milk processing to give 150+ varieties of ice-creams; Tazaa™, Gold™ and other milk varieties; buttermilk; paneer and curd requires over 5,00,000 litres of water DAILY, thus making ETP and water recycling crucial.

The Central Laboratory here is well-equipped with cutting edge technology for proper checking of the raw milk, its composition and microbial load, the quality checks of fully processed foods, the quality of check of the packaging material and much more. One of the equipment here that was new to us was the MilkoScan™ FT2 allows you to analyse all liquid dairy products, from incoming milk and milk standardisation to final liquid dairy products with high performance and gives results in just 25seconds.


The unit of milk production is about 80% automated and 20% manual and packs 160 packs of ½ litre per minute! Further,the paneer production section was observed which employed the Paneer-O-matic and Hardling Turners wherein the paneer block the turned upto 40 times to harden the paneer and give it the proper consistency.
All the production here is monitored and controlled by the Gujarat Co-Operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd,Anand,Gujarat.

Coming to the very important part of the unit,the ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) which consists 3 stages as-
1)Mixing and fat removal -This involves mixing the waste liquid so as to cool it and removal of suspended  fats which are collected in the Receiving Tank.The fatty acids are the reason of the rancid smell of the waste.

2)Anaerobic Wastewater Treatment - It is a wastewater treatment system using biology that without using of air or oxygen. It aims to remove organic pollution in wastewater, slurries and sludge. Anaerobic microorganisms convert organic pollutants into a “biogas” which contains methane,which is used as fuel and carbon dioxide.

The ETP here involves Up flow anaerobic sludge blanket technology also known as UASB reactor is a form of anaerobic digester which used in wastewater treatment. UASB reactor is a methane-producing digester, which uses an anaerobic process and forming a blanket of granular sludge and is processed by the anaerobic microorganisms. This process reduces the COD by 90% its initial value.

3) Aerobic Wastewater Treatment – It involves further degradation of the water from the UASB under continuous supply of oxygen by aerobic micro-organisms to give CO2 and biomass,which can be removed.

This process employs cowdung and is shown to reduce the BOD by 90% thereby meets the strict regulations laid by the government for effluent release. This water is odour-free and can be used for agricultural activities nearby and is also transported to other places for such uses due to its fertilizing activity. The entire process requires about 8-9 days.

We would like to thank Dr. Santosh A. Shende,The Principal,Vartak College & Prof.Mrs.Kanika Bhargava,Course Co-ordinator, The Department of Biotechnology for arranging this visit to AMUL.
Also,Sincere Thanks to AMUL, Virar for having us for the Industrial and ETP Visit & for co-operating with us throughout.

                              

 By-
Ms. Eesha Choudhary, Student Representative, Department of Biotechnology, Vartak College, Vasai.


Comments

  1. PranavMay 1, 2024 at 1:47 AM

    It's impressive how Amul maintains such strict regulations for their products. Their commitment to quality really shines through in their processing methods. It's reassuring to know that we can trust the food items coming from Amul.
    Amul is awesome. Sounds like you had a great time.

    ReplyDelete

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