Bulgaria — 2021 — Shanghai EasyReal Machinery Co., Ltd. (EasyReal) supplied a Lab UHT/HTST Plant for CODAP / MyDay in Bulgaria. This pilot system is designed for dairy product trials, plant-based beverage testing, fluid food experiments, and formula development.
The plant helps the customer study the UHT process, compare different process settings, and prepare products for larger-scale production. It is suitable for research work on UHT milk, skim milk, flavored milk drinks, dairy beverages, and many other liquid food products. It can also support development work for plant-based drinks that need careful control of texture, stability, and shelf life.
This is not a mass production line. It is a pilot and laboratory system built for small-batch trials, product optimization, and process verification.
• Customer: CODAP / MyDay
• Country: Bulgaria
• Project year: 2021
• Project type: Lab UHT/HTST Plant
• Main use: dairy and plant-based beverage R&D, pilot testing, and formulation development
• Core modules: Pilot Tubular Sterilizer, Inline Homogenizer, Aseptic Filling Cabinet, and Utilities
This pilot plant allows the customer to test product behavior during uht treatment, check filling performance, and study how different formulas respond to sterilization and homogenization.
The main purpose of this Lab UHT/HTST Plant is to help the customer run controlled product trials before full industrial production.
It can be used to:
• test new dairy and plant-based drink formulas
• compare different uht treatment settings
• study product stability after aseptic packaging
• check how heat affects flavor, color, protein stability, and texture
• support scale-up from lab testing to commercial production
For many products, especially milk drinks and protein beverages, ultra high temperature processing must be tested carefully. A small change in temperature, holding time, or homogenization point can affect product quality and final shelf life.
Pilot Tubular Sterilizer
The plant is equipped with a Pilot Tubular Sterilizer. This section is the core of the uht process and HTST testing work.
The sterilizer is designed for rapidly heating the product to the target temperature, holding it for a controlled time, and then moving it to the next stage. This kind of controlled ultra high temperature processing is very important for products such as uht milk, skim milk, cream drinks, and plant-based beverages.
The system includes different protein holding sections with different holding times. This helps the customer study how sensitive proteins behave during sterilization. It is especially useful when the product contains milk protein, vegetable protein, or other ingredients that may react to heat.
Heat Exchanger System
The line also includes an important heat exchanger section inside the pilot sterilization system. The heat exchanger is used to transfer thermal energy in a controlled way during heating and cooling.
In pilot trials, the performance of the heat exchanger is important because it affects:
• how fast the product is heated
• how stable the process remains
• how well product quality is protected
• how repeatable the test results are
This is one reason why the plant is suitable for serious R&D work rather than only simple sample production.
Hot Water Section
The plant uses a hot water based heating concept to support stable thermal control in the process. The hot water loop helps keep heating more even and easier to manage during product trials.
For many liquid food tests, stable hot water circulation gives better control over process conditions. That is helpful when the customer wants to compare product behavior under different sterilization settings.
Inline Homogenizer
The system includes an Inline Homogenizer. It can be used for both:
• upstream inline homogenization
• aseptic downstream inline homogenization
This gives the customer more flexibility during trials. Some products need homogenization before sterilization. Other products may perform better with homogenization in an aseptic downstream position.
This is very useful for milk drinks, protein beverages, creamy products, and plant-based emulsions, where particle size and dispersion strongly affect texture and long-term stability.
Aseptic Filling Cabinet
The plant also includes an Aseptic Filling Cabinet. This is used for small-batch filling after sterilization. It supports aseptic processing and lets the customer check product performance after filling.
This module is important because product development does not stop after heating. The customer also needs to evaluate:
• filling behavior
• package compatibility
• product appearance after storage
• microbial safety
• final shelf life
The cabinet supports aseptic packaging trials, which are necessary for products that aim for long shelf stability.
Utility System
The plant is also equipped with the required utility support sections. These help the whole system operate in a safe, stable, and repeatable way during pilot tests.
This Lab UHT/HTST Plant can support many product categories.
Dairy Applications
For dairy R&D, the system can be used for:
• uht milk
• skim milk
• flavored milk
• dairy beverages
• protein drinks
• cream-based drinks
• fermented base trials before later processing
The plant helps the customer study how these products respond to uht treatment, homogenization, and aseptic processing.
Plant-Based Beverage Applications
The plant can also be used for:
• oat drinks
• soy drinks
• nut beverages
• mixed plant protein drinks
• other plant-based beverages
For these products, the system is helpful because it supports formula trials, emulsion testing, stability checks, and aseptic packaging studies.
A pilot UHT/HTST system gives the customer a practical bridge between lab work and industrial production.
Instead of going directly to a large commercial line, the customer can first test:
• how the formula behaves in the real uht process
• whether the product remains stable after ultra high temperature processing
• whether the taste, color, and texture stay acceptable
• whether the package and filling method support the required shelf life
This reduces risk and helps make development work more efficient.
Controlled UHT Process
The plant gives the customer a controlled uht process for product trials. This means better data, clearer comparison, and easier process adjustment.
Rapidly Heating for Better Testing
The system supports rapidly heating the product to the target sterilization temperature. This is important for realistic UHT simulation and product protection.
Flexible Heat Treatment Study
Because the plant includes a proper sterilizer, heat exchanger, and protein holding section, it is useful for comparing different uht treatment conditions.
Support for Aseptic Processing
The Aseptic Filling Cabinet allows real aseptic processing trials instead of only open sample collection. This gives more useful data for real product development.
Better Shelf Life Evaluation
When product trials include sterilization plus aseptic packaging, the customer can better study final shelf life under realistic conditions.
For products like uht milk and skim milk, the final quality depends on more than one step. The result is shaped by:
• heating speed
• holding time
• homogenization point
• filling hygiene
• packaging method
The same is true for many plant-based drinks. That is why a good pilot system must combine rapidly heating, controlled uht treatment, stable hot water circulation, a reliable heat exchanger, and safe aseptic processing.
This Lab UHT/HTST Plant gives the customer all of these functions in one compact pilot platform.
This project helps CODAP / MyDay improve its R&D capability in both dairy and plant-based beverage categories.
The system supports:
• dairy formulation development
• pilot testing for uht milk and skim milk
• testing of the uht process
• comparison of different sterilization conditions
• study of shelf life
• small-batch aseptic packaging
• practical aseptic processing validation
• smoother scale-up planning for future industrial production
For a company working with dairy and beverage innovation, this kind of pilot plant is a very useful technical tool.
Post time: Dec-24-2021
