The new Clover Stornetta milk plant in Petaluma, Calif., which started production last September, is one of the most modern facilities in the dairy industry. To meet production requirements of 50,000 gal. of milk products and 3,000 gal. of orange juice a day, the plant has installed two new Cherry-Burrell Thermaflex plate heat exchangers to pasteurize its products.

The $7.5-million, 25,000-sq.-ft. plant produces whole, 1%, 2%, and nonfat milk, as well as, orange juice. Besides whole raw milk, the plant receives skim and condensed milk directly from a local dairy co-op, so it does not need to separate its own milk.

The different finished milk products are produced by blending the three streams in-line just ahead of the larger pasteurizers, which is rated at 6,500 gal. per hour. The smaller unit is rated at 1,400 gal. per hour for orange juice. Each is a conventional regeneration/heating/cooling plate heat exchanger.

Both pasteurizers are equipped with Cherry-Burrell's Thermaflex plates, which feature the new Thermalock gaskets. These snap in and out easily and require no adhesive, reducing downtime by up to 75% when gaskets need to be changed.

Thermalock gaskets fit into deep, protective grooves. Each groove actually extends deeper than the plane of the main plate pattern, so less gasket area is exposed when plates are nested. This enables the gaskets to handle higher pressures without tearing free or blowing out.

Other advantages of Thermaflex plates include better product flow onto the plate, increased heat exchange; and right- and left-hand plates and gaskets are interchangeable, reducing inventory.