Improvement of the Potato Protein Drying Process as an Example of Implementing Sustainable Development in Industry

This article describes the implemented technological solution of utilizing waste heat by upgrading the potato protein drying line and using energy recuperation in the drying plant. In this article, the technological sequence of the potato starch and potato protein production plant was analyzed and the identification of possible solutions that lead to a reduction in energy demand was described. The method of analyzing the processing data is based on existing models describing the flow of mass and energy fluxes. The authors did not seek new mathematical descriptions of the physicochemical phenomena occurring during the drying processes, and only modification of the technological line based on the current state of knowledge in process engineering has been proposed. The full heat recovery of the production line was applied, and the exhaust air after drying and the heat from the decanter leachate after centrifugation of the coagulated potato protein, from two energy-coupled starch dryers, were used as the source of recovered heat energy. Temperature measurements were taken at key process nodes, and the energy effects were estimated after the process line upgrade. The solution proposed in the article fits with circular economy, bringing notable economic and environmental benefits consisting of utilizing waste heat from technological processes in the food industry.