Project Reference · USA

Cream Receiving System

Protrus built and installed a complete cream receiving system for a US dairy plant: a tanker receiving skid, two 6,000-gallon cooled silos, cream dosing to the pasteurizer tank and a two-tank CIP unit. One PLC runs it all, and the project has been delivered to the customer.

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Protrus cream storage system with two 6,000-gallon stainless steel silos, transfer piping and a two-tank CIP unit

Two 6,000-gallon cream silos with transfer piping and the two-tank CIP unit

Product

Cream with 40–60% fat, delivered by road tanker

Storage

2 × 6,000 gal silos, cooling-jacketed and agitated

Dosing

200 gal to the pasteurizer tank in 5–6 min

Control

One PLC with HMI, from receiving to CIP

From Tanker to Pasteurizer Tank Under One PLC

Cream with 40–60% fat arrives at the plant by road tanker. The receiving skid pumps it out, measures it and records its temperature, the silos store it cold, and the dosing system sends exactly the amount production needs to the pasteurizer tank.

Every step runs from one PLC with an HMI panel, including the automatic CIP that cleans the lines and silos. The plant gets a weight and a temperature record for each delivery and time-and-temperature charts on every silo, in the format US dairy inspectors expect.

Cream path · tanker to pasteurizer tank Steps 1–5
  1. 1TankerCream with 40–60% fat, road tanker delivery
  2. 2Receiving skidCentrifugal pump, mass flowmeter, PT100 with recorder
  3. 3Cream silos2 × 6,000 gal (22,700 L), cooled, insulated, agitated
  4. 4Dosing200 gal in 5–6 min through a 2″ sanitary line
  5. 5Pasteurizer tankEach dose started from the HMI, metered by flowmeter
CIP and control · shared by every step

Rinse tankWater rinse of lines and silos

Wash tankCaustic, dosed automatically

Stored recipesSame clean every time

PLC with HMIReceiving, storage, dosing, CIP

RecordsIntake temperature, silo charts

Cream path of the Protrus receiving system in the USA, steps 1–5 from tanker to pasteurizer tank. The band below shows the CIP and control functions shared by every step. Select a stage to see its equipment.

What the System Delivers

The system was designed around three needs of a US cream plant: hold enough cream to keep production running, know exactly what came in with every tanker, and keep the paperwork ready for inspection.

More cream on hand

Two cooled silos take full tanker loads, so production runs from stock instead of waiting for the next delivery.

Every load accounted for

Mass-flow measurement and an intake temperature record for each delivery: actual quantity, not an estimate from tank volume.

Records ready for inspection

Time-and-temperature charts on the silos, in the format US inspectors expect.

Even fat to the pasteurizer

Agitation and jacket cooling keep the high-fat cream uniform while it waits in storage.

One control system

Receiving, storage, dosing and CIP all run from one PLC, with dosing started from the HMI panel.

Automatic cleaning

Recipe-based CIP with automatic caustic dosing gives the same clean every time.

2 × 6,000 gal

cream storage (2 × 22,700 L)

200 gal

per dose, in 5–6 minutes (about 757 L)

40–60%

fat content of the received cream

Why Protrus

  • One supplier for receiving, storage, dosing, CIP, piping and PLC automation.
  • Built for US plants: silos sized in gallons and records in the format US dairy plants use.
  • Scalable support, from a single receiving skid to a complete processing line.

Step 01 · Receiving

Cream Receiving Unit

Every tanker load is pumped, weighed and temperature-logged on one skid.

Tankers unload through a skid-mounted receiving unit. A centrifugal pump draws the cream out of the tanker and sends it through sanitary stainless lines to the silos.

On the way, a mass flowmeter measures every delivery by weight, so the actual quantity received is on record rather than an estimate from tank volume. A PT100 sensor reads the cream temperature at intake and passes it to a recorder, which leaves a temperature record for each load.

Protrus cream receiving skid with centrifugal pump, mass flowmeter and sanitary stainless lines to the silos
Close-up of the Protrus cream receiving skid with PT100 sensor and flowmeter

Fig. 1 Cream receiving skid. Sanitary stainless lines carry the cream from the skid to the silos.

On the Receiving Skid

  • Centrifugal pump that draws the cream out of the tanker and sends it to the silos.
  • Mass flowmeter that measures each delivery by weight.
  • PT100 sensor with recorder: a temperature record for every load.
  • Flow switches that tell the PLC whether product is moving.

Step 02 · Storage

Cream Storage Silos

Full tanker loads held cold and uniform until production needs them.

Two silos of 6,000 gallons (22,700 L) each hold the received cream until production needs it. Each silo is cooling-jacketed and insulated to keep the cream at storage temperature, and an agitator keeps the high-fat cream uniform, so the fat sent to the pasteurizer stays even from the first dose to the last.

Two 6,000-gallon Protrus cream silos with transfer piping and the two-tank CIP unit at left

Fig. 2 The two cream silos with their transfer piping. The two-tank CIP unit stands at left.

Each Silo Has

  • A cooling jacket and insulation to keep cream at storage temperature.
  • An agitator that keeps high-fat cream uniform.
  • A PT100 sensor with a time-and-temperature chart recorder, in the format US dairy plants use.
  • A pressure sensor, plus low and high level sensors.

2 silos

full tanker loads in stock

6,000 gal

per silo (22,700 L)

4 sensors

PT100, pressure, low and high level

Step 03 · Dosing

Cream Dosing System

The PLC doses cream from the silos to the pasteurizer tank through a 2-inch sanitary line, with a flowmeter tracking the amount sent.

  • Operators start each dose from the HMI panel.

200 gal

per dose (about 757 L)

5–6 min

dosing time

2″

sanitary dosing line

Step 04 · Cleaning

CIP System

Protrus also built the two-tank CIP system, with a rinse tank and a wash tank. It is fully automatic: it cleans the lines and silos in place by stored recipes and doses caustic automatically.

2 tanks

rinse and wash

Auto

caustic dosing

1 PLC

shared with receiving and dosing

Technical Summary

Main equipment and specifications of the cream receiving, storage, dosing and CIP system delivered in the USA.

UnitEquipmentSpecification
ReceivingProductCream, 40–60% fat, from road tanker
Pump · meterCentrifugal pump · mass flowmeter · flow switches
TemperaturePT100 sensor with recorder
StorageSilos2 × 6,000 gal (22,700 L each)
ConstructionCooling jacket, insulated, agitator
InstrumentsPT100 + time/temperature recorder, pressure sensor, low and high level sensors
DosingTransferFlowmeter, 2″ line, 200 gal in 5–6 min
CIPTanks · controlRinse + wash tank, recipe-based, automatic caustic dosing
ControlAutomationPLC with HMI, whole system from start to finish

Planning the next step after the pasteurizer tank? See our cream and butter production unit, the pasteurization and standardization line and our process technology for dairy.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cream Receiving Systems

Have a question about your cream intake, storage or dosing? Ask our process engineers.

It is the equipment that takes cream off the road tanker and gets it ready for processing: a receiving skid that pumps, measures and records each delivery, storage silos that keep the cream cold and uniform, a dosing system that feeds the pasteurizer tank, and CIP to clean it all. The Protrus system in the USA does this for cream with 40–60% fat under one PLC.

A mass flowmeter measures each delivery by weight, so the quantity received is on record rather than estimated from tank volume. That gives the plant an exact figure for every tanker load to check against the delivery paperwork.

A PT100 sensor on the receiving skid reads the cream temperature as it is pumped in and passes it to a recorder. The result is a temperature record for each load, kept together with its weight.

The system has two silos of 6,000 gallons (22,700 L) each, enough to take full tanker loads and run production from stock. Each silo has a cooling jacket, insulation, an agitator, a PT100 sensor with chart recorder, a pressure sensor and low and high level sensors.

Cream with 40–60% fat must stay uniform and cold while it waits for production. The agitator keeps the high-fat cream even, and the cooling jacket with insulation holds it at storage temperature, so the fat content sent to the pasteurizer stays consistent.

Each delivery gets a weight from the mass flowmeter and an intake temperature record. Each silo has a time-and-temperature chart recorder, in the format US dairy plants use and US inspectors expect.

The PLC doses 200 gallons (about 757 L) in 5–6 minutes through a 2-inch sanitary line, with a flowmeter tracking the amount sent. Operators start each dose from the HMI panel.

A two-tank CIP unit with a rinse tank and a wash tank cleans the lines and silos in place. It runs by stored recipes and doses caustic automatically, so every clean is the same. More on our CIP plant systems.

Yes. Protrus supports US producers from one receiving skid to a complete line. Send us your product, daily volume and floor space through our quote form, and we will propose a layout.

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Adding Capacity at Your US Plant?

Protrus helps US producers grow output with engineering and technology support, from one receiving skid to a complete line. Send us your product, daily volume and floor space, and we will propose a layout.

  • Your product and its fat content
  • Daily volume in gallons or liters
  • Available floor space
  • Existing pasteurizer, CIP and controls to connect
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Prefer email? info@protrus.com

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