By Jasmine Brennan
In the food and beverage industry, industrial users require filtration solutions for their process water as well as their wastewater. Many considerations come into play when selecting the optimal filtration system. On the process water side, criteria include the impact on business efficiencies in production time, transportation, labor costs, and product loss. The filtration system must also be evaluated for its ability to protect the flavor of the product. In some cases, filtration systems may also be used to remove solids from those products - frequently achieved by utilizing such equipment as bags, cartridges, and centrifuges.
Industrial process water serves many different markets, each with its own set of challenges. In the California Central Valley, for example, producers as well as processors struggle with high solids loading in both their process and wastewater applications. Both regulation and standard process procedures require high solids removal from their process streams. Rotary screens can fail to meet regulation standards as well as remove the required number of solids to avoid fouling downstream equipment. Automatic self-cleaning filters can help both producers and processors bridge this gap in the process line.
Management of high levels of solids in wastewater is an ongoing challenge for many food and beverage producers, who are increasingly putting in place water reuse and recycling programs. Treatment of wastewaters can be challenging given that wastewater is generated by all areas of food processing, including dehydrating, washing, peeling, blanching, sorting, and sanitizing. In wastewater management, dewatering is important, and the system must also be able to filter out impurities to meet regulatory standards. Concentrating solids in the wastewater stream also benefits industrial users by lowering disposal and regulatory fees.
A food and beverage producer may consider the process to be more separation than filtration. Recovered solids are not necessarily waste product; in some cases, they may become a nutrient-rich byproduct that can be sold to create an ancillary revenue stream.