An integrated mathematical model for the milk collection problem

The number of microorganisms and chemical values of the milks separated according to their quality are different from each other. In case of mixing different quality types of milk, composed milk quality is considered equal to the lowest quality milk type among the types of milk added to the mixture. Therefore, different types of raw milk should not be mixed during collection. The problem of milk collection is related to the collection of raw milk, which is separated according to the quality types, from the producers at different points by multi-tank tankers. In this study, an integrated mathematical model has been developed to collect different quality types of raw milk at different points under the specified time limit by means of tankers having multiple tanks. The results obtained by solving a hypothetical case study with ILOG CPLEX show that proposed model allows to optimally collect different type of raw milks without mixing. Thus, it will be possible to produce higher quality dairy products.