Filtration is a key part of wine bottling. After all, wine is a living product that may still contain bacteria when it is about to be bottled. It is essential, therefore, that the wine be as sterile as possible when it is bottled or otherwise packaged, so as to ensure its quality and shelf life. Wine bottlers obviously want this filtration to be done in the most cost-effective way possible, without it altering the essence of what is ultimately a natural product. This is, however, easier said than done, as shown by the following case of a Belgian wine bottling plant that turned to BÈTA industrie for help.
The bottling plant had just set up a new wine bottling line, which they had no prior experience with. Although the wine is pre-treated by the supplier and relatively pure, different types of filters are still needed to make sure the wine is as sterile as possible when it goes into the bottles. BÈTA industrie’s advice on how to make this happen turned out to be of great importance.
‘The main goal of the process was to ensure that the wine is microbiologically stable after bottling. And that the wine can be kept for as long as possible,’ says BÈTA industrie director Vincent Eijt.
That is why he opted for advanced filters from UK-based manufacturer Amazon Filters, starting out with a 0.65 micron SupaPore polyethersulfone membrane and later switching to a comparable 0.45 micron SupaPore membrane. These advanced membranes provide superior throughput, without affecting the wine’s flavour, aroma or colour. ‘We’ve been supplying filters from this renowned manufacturer for years for more critical process filtrations, such as in the food and beverage industry,’ Eijt explains.
The pores in the membrane filters are so fine that bacteria cannot pass through them. The principle works on the basis of physical separation of the substances, i.e. some particles can pass through the filter, while others cannot. The pore size of the membranes determines the degree to which suspended solids, turbidity and micro-organisms are removed from the wine. It is a pressure-driven process that completely stops bacteria by sieving them out.
In practice, however, the filters turned out to get clogged up fairly quickly during the bottling process. They were also impossible to clean. This was partly because the second-hand membrane backwash system that the customer had purchased to clean the membrane filters did not work properly. As a result, the customer initially had to throw away too many filters.
Together with the customer, BÈTA industrie came up with an innovative solution. A technical specialist from Amazon Filters was called in from the UK for a day to give advice and remained involved in the process in the background. ‘We developed a test together to determine the filterability of the wine they had to bottle. Whenever the wine is not pure enough, the customer now first pre-filters it using kieselguhr plates. These pre-filters are cheaper than the membrane filters from Amazon Filters and have a higher dirt-trapping capacity. As a result, the more expensive membrane filters are now better protected and last much longer.’
When the customer starts bottling, the operators first check the membrane filters for leaks. They do this by forcing air through the filters under high pressure – 600 mbar. During the process, they also discovered that it is essential for the filters to be wet. This can be achieved by rinsing them with water for a considerable time.
After all, when the filters are too dry, the air passes through the pores. ‘We also noticed that the customer was using the wrong cleaning agent. This left the filters too dry. They took our advice and switched to a different cleaning agent.’ Overall, BÈTA industrie’s advice has helped this customer secure considerable cost savings. They now use far fewer expensive membrane filters and the bottling process is much more controlled. The customer is grateful for the result! If you are interested in finding out what our filtration solutions can do for your processes, contact us! Our specialists will be happy to assist you. Simply give us a call on +31 79 341 55 18 or click the button below!
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Together with the customer, BÈTA industrie came up with an innovative solution. And a technical specialist from Amazon Filters was called in from the UK to give advice and remained involved in the process in the background. ‘We developed a test together to determine the filterability of the wine they had to bottle. Whenever the wine is not pure enough, the customer now first pre-filters it using kieselguhr plates. These pre-filters are cheaper than the membrane filters from Amazon Filters and have a higher dirt-trapping capacity. As a result, the more expensive membrane filters are now better protected and last much longer.’
When the customer starts bottling, the operators first check the membrane filters for leaks. They do this by forcing air through the filters under high pressure – 600 mbar. During the process, they also discovered that it is essential for the filters to be wet, because when they are too dry, the air passes through the pores unobstructed.
To keep them wet, they are now rinsed with water for a considerable time. ‘We also noticed that the customer was using the wrong cleaning agent. This left the filters too dry. They took our advice and switched to a different cleaning agent.’ Overall, BÈTA industrie’s advice has helped this customer secure considerable cost savings. They now use far fewer expensive membrane filters and the bottling process is much more controlled. The customer is grateful for the result!
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