Abstract
The paper presented the current situation regarding the pre-cooling and cooling processes of milk at the collection centers in the countries of the European Union and in the Republic of Moldova. It has been found that cooling the milk in the first hours after milking is very important. In order to reduce the risk of milk spoilage in the collection process from individual producers, the use of ice boxes in the tanks of the collection trucks was proposed at the collection centers in the Republic of Moldova. In order to determine the ice requirement in the mobile collection process, the mathematical model was developed to establish the optimal ice-to-milk ratio. Based on the theoretical results, experimental tests were carried out that demonstrated the correctness of the calculations. It should be noted that the pre-cooling of milk increases the energy efficiency at the collection center, by reducing the time of use of the refrigeration plant, and the costs necessary to obtain ice are compensated by the volume of milk that is at risk of being spoiled.
