View Table of Contents Application Notes For BevReady Cartridge Filters Installation • Assure that the housing, pressure gauges, valves, gaskets and o-rings are in good working order Operation (continued) • A common practice at distilleries is to terminate the filtration and clean or change the cartridge(s) when the differential pressure reaches 30 psi.
(housing o-rings should be replaced on a regular basis). • Carefully remove the cartridge from the packaging material and inspect. Use caution when opening the filter bag – scissors are recommended. Each filter cartridge is stamped with the grade and comes with a quality certificate in the box. Verify that the correct filter is being installed for the intended application. • Wet the o-rings with water and install into the housing, being careful not to roll the o-rings upon installation. • Run ambient temperature water* through cartridges under a little back pressure to fully wet out the filter media. Sterilization & Cleaning • Gusmer Enterprises recommends the use of hot water (180 °F for 30 minutes) for sterilization of filters and filter housings (time period starts when the housing outlet comes to temperature). Once the proper temperature is reached, take care to use only a low hot water flow and low differential pressure. • Each hot water cycle should always be preceded and followed by an ambient water rinse cycle. Use filtered, softened water for wetting, cleaning, and sterilization to avoid fouling the cartridges. • If hot water is not available, the filters are compatible with a wide range of sanitation chemicals. Please consult your Gusmer representative for specific info. • Ensure that filter housings remain vented during cleaning and sterilization. • It is recommended to start each cleaning cycle with at least 5 minutes of cold water flow. Temperature should then be gradually increased to its final cleaning temperature (typically 180 °F). A longer warm water rinse is beneficial to cleaning. Filters should never be contacted with a temperature above 135 °F without first rinsing with cold/warm water* to acheive maximum throughput. • Some filters can be backflushed. Please consult your Gusmer representative for specific information. • Avoid pressure shocks and water hammer especially during cleaning/sanitation with hot fluids. Operation • Differential pressure (inlet minus outlet pressure) should be monitored regularly. Differential pressure increases as the filters plug, eventually leading to a loss of flow through the filter. Differential pressure increases exponentially. It may take many weeks to reach 80% plugged, but only a few hours for the final plugging to occur.
• Operate the process at the lowest, consistent flow rate to have a positive effect on filter performance. A higher face velocity leads to faster plugging. • Avoid pressure shocks and water hammer on the line. • Ensure that the top of the housing dome is periodically vented during production to remove any gas buildup that may overlap the filters. Integrity Testing • Integrity testing is only conducted on final membrane cartridges and is conducted per the recommended specifications of the manufacturer for the specific membrane used. Integrity testing is conducted after the sanitation cycle, both prior to and after the bottling run. There are a few different methods for integrity testing, of which the bubble point and pressure hold methods are the most common. The bubble point method is recommended for housings with three or less cartridges and the pressure hold method is recommended for housings with greater than three cartridges. Please consult your Gusmer representative for detailed information on integrity testing methods and specifications. • Every BevReady Pure filter cartridge is integrity tested prior to packaging. Damage caused to cartridges by shipping, installation or process improprieties, or housing and valve issues are usually manifested as gross integrity test failure. Cartridge Storage • Intermediate storage (overnight or over a weekend) can be done in the filter housing. Flush the filters with warm water, sterilize the housing and pressurize with 5 psi of nitrogen. The nitrogen keeps the housing under a positive pressure. • Long-term storage is best done outside of the filter housings. Four inch PVC piping capped at both ends is frequently used to store the individual cartridges in a solution of 350 ppm sulfur dioxide that has been adjusted to a pH of 3.5 with citric acid. This solution should be tested every month and replaced as necessary. Ethanol at approximately 40% may also be used for long term storage. Remove o-rings from the cartridges prior to storage and store the o-rings in a clean and dry place. • Reinstall the o-rings, rinse, sterilize and integrity test stored cartridges prior to resuming bottling filtration.
West Coast: 559.485.2692 / East Coast: 908.301.1811 www.gusmerdistilling.com 21
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