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Plant-Based Vegan Milk Alternatives Preparation and Separation

Decanter Centrifuges Offer the Most Cost-Effective Means to Enter a Rapidly Growing Market

Non-dairy milk alternatives—like almond, oat, rice and soy—are an increasingly popular vegan alternative to dairy milk. Though they've been made for hundreds of years, they are now enjoyed on a massive scale, with a nearly 20% increase in unit sales from 2019 to 2020; and with 1 in 20 Americans reporting allergies to dairy milks, the demand is enough for manufacturers to consider improved methods to meet that demand. At Archer Separation, we partner with a variety of manufacturers of decanter centrifuges, which we supply to assist plant-based vegan milk alternative producers with their plant milk production.

Decanter centrifuges play a significant role in the production of vegan milk alternatives; these centrifuges are utilized throughout the manufacturing process to separate desirable components from the raw ingredients, resulting in a smooth, nutritious, and flavorful plant based milk product. Here's how one of our partners, HAUS, applies its decanter centrifuges in the production of vegetable milk:

Diagram of plant-based milk system
  1. Extraction of Plant Material

    Plant-based milk is typically sourced almonds, soybeans, coconut, oats, or rice. Decanter centrifuges are initially used to extract the liquid from this raw plant material. For example, in almond milk production, decanter centrifuges efficiently separate almond ‘pulp’ from almond ‘milk’ by rapidly spinning the contents. Without a decanter centrifuge, these plants would have to be liquefied by less specialized processes, which are slower and costlier.

  2. Separation of Solids and Liquids

    Decanter centrifuges are employed to separate suspended solids (fiber or pulp) from the resulting liquid (the milk or juice). This separation process is crucial for achieving a desired consistency and texture for the vegetable milk. Decanter centrifuges powerfully separate the denser solids from the lighter liquid, resulting in a smooth and homogeneous plant-based vegan milk alternative without need to manually separate pulp.

  3. Clarification and Stability

    A decanter centrifuge also clarifies the plant-based milk it processes, removing fine particles and impurities from the milk output. This creates a clearer and more visually appealing product; paired with the decanter centrifuge's homogenous texture, the plant-based milk processed via a decanter centrifuge results in a product that resists separation of the milk components over time, making it a more appealing product for sale.

  4. Fat Content Adjustment

    In some cases, decanter centrifuges are even utilized to adjust the fat content of plant-based milk! Separating the plant-based milk's components by density, decanter centrifuges can be used to remove or concentrate the fat content as desired, allowing manufacturers to create a product with specific fat levels to meet consumer preferences.

  5. Quality Control

    Quality control of plant-based milk alternatives can also be assisted with a decanter centrifuge. By quickly and efficiently separating undesirable components or contaminants from the plant-based milk, centrifuges help ensure that the final milk alternative meets required quality standards and nutritional content in addition to taste and texture.

  6. Separated Plant Material Use

    Decanter centrifuges output their separated plant solids with maximum capture of fluids, allowing the remaining spent solids to be repurposed as animal feed or sold, rather than wasted or re-processed multiple times to achieve the liquid extraction a decanter centrifuge can in a single processing, saving considerable time and costs.

Overall, decanter centrifuges are essential equipment in the production of plant-based milk alternatives, presenting an arsenal's worth of tools and solutions in a single efficient package that enables efficient separation, clarification, and homogenization of plant-based ingredients to create high-quality milk alternatives, catering to an ever-increasing demand for dairy-free and vegan milk alternative products—at Archer Separation, we're committed to helping you integrate the solutions that will help you meet these demands.

We understand your plant-based and vegan milk alternative processing needs, and will meet those needs with the best technology available!

Contact Us Today with all your Filtration or Separation Challenges. Call 604.484.4516 or Contact Us through our Online Form.