BEVERAGE CLARIFICATION

Membrane Filtration: Advantages in Wine Production Clarification, or separation of suspended solids from wine, is an extremely critical step in the processing of wine. Not only is it important to leave the special flavour components untouched but also the disposal of filter aids, such as diatomaceous earth and sheet filters is becoming increasingly problematic in view of growing awareness of ecological and human health issues. Furthermore, the individual filtration steps that membrane filtration replaces are batch operated and need a lot of human attention and manual work.

Membrana offers an alternative with Liqui-Flux^® beverage modules or exchangeable cartridges for cross flow microfiltration (CMF) with many advantages over conventional methods. Liqui-Flux modules utilize micro porous membranes as very efficient and safe separating elements.

Many manufacturers of automated filtration systems all over Europe use Liqui-Flux modules as original equipment in their processes.

The advantages of using Liqui-Flux beverage modules are:

• One single step instead of several process steps
• Low fouling tendency
• No need for additional filter aids
• Suitable for completely automated production plants
• Easy to change from one to another type of wine
• Low losses of wine
• Wine filtration costs are reduced
• No health hazards such as those associated with diatomaceous earth

To further illustrate how simple and useful cross flow clarification with Liqui-Flux filtration modules is, the following flow chart provides an overview of the wine making process. The traditional fining after fermentation often involves a series of centrifugation and diatomaceous earth filtration steps to obtain the desired wine quality. The use of Liqui-Flux Microfiltration Membrane Modules in a cross-flow system reduces the number of individual steps significantly and provides a durable economical solution for your wine clarification process.