Nutrimar båt AFRY i Norge

Sustainability boost for Nutrimar

Sustainability boost for Nutrimar

Nutrimar is a Norwegian biomarine company that produces sustainable feed ingredients from by-products of farmed salmon and kelp. Nutrimar had a need to optimize and increase the production capacity of the spray dryer at their factory in Frøya. This was a significant investment for Nutrimar which resulted in an even more sustainable production. AFRY has provided the factory with the new filter and fluid bed solutions.

As part of the project, we have delivered project management, engineering for process, electrical and automation, as well as deliveries of new valves, pumps and machines. The upgrade of the factory’s spray dryer has been important for reducing wastage, making better use of raw materials, and reducing product loss and energy consumption. Nutrimar expects to pay back the investment in approximately 1.5 years.

"This has been a seamless project, which was completed within the same year as we started it. The effects of the upgrade are significant with immediate benefits, such as a more sustainable production and a better utilization of the raw materials, says Hans Vedde," head of Food AFRY in Norway.

Hans Vedde, leder Food i AFRY
Hans Vedde, head of Food AFRY in Norway

Instant results

The project was completed autumn 2021. The upgrade has generated a variety of production benefits for Nutrimar:

  • Downtime of the machinery related to cleaning has been reduced from 14 hours per week to 0 hours per week.
  • As a result of added production hours, the production has increased from 325 kg/h to 578 kg/h.
  • Costs related to labor have been reduced by 48%.
  • Energy consumption has been reduced by 60%.

The factory's environmental impact has also been reduced considerably. Before the upgrade, the product loss released into the environment from the factory was 40 kg/h. After the upgrade, this has been reduced to 0 kg/h. In addition, Nutrimar’s gas-powered spray dryer has been converted to electricity and heat recovery has been installed.

Sjøgress

A game changer

“This upgrade has been highly valuable for us. Especially when it comes to the operation of the spray dryer. This has been an absolute game changer,” says Nils Gustav Gundersen, project responsible at Nutrimar.

Before the upgrade, the spray dryer had to be stopped for daily maintenance. It also needed cleaning several times a week, which resulted in additional downtime in the production: - Now we start the spray dryer on Mondays and run it the whole week without any interruptions, says Gundersen.

The upgrade has also contributed to better utilization of resources and almost zero emissions of particles and odors to the external environment.

“This has definitely been a win-win project for us,” Gundersen concludes.

About Nutrimar

Nutrimar processes approximately 40,000 tonnes of by-products from salmon farming annually, which are processed into fresh salmon oil, meal, and hydrolysed spray-dried protein concentrate (protein hydrolysates). The products are sold as key ingredients to the US and European animal feed markets, European fish feed manufacturers and global agricultural operators.

For more information contact

Hans Vedde - Director Food in Norway

Hans Vedde

Director Food in Norway

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