Beverage World - May 2008 - (Page 53) [PRODUCTION] IN BRIEF BEVSOLUTIONS OPERATIONS OBSERVATIONS Wine Company Adds 2nd Compact Filter The Woodbridge Winery (Acampo, Calif., USA) has installed a second three Stage-in-Series (SIS) crossflow microfiltration system from Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. (KMS). The system was selected because of the low capital and operating costs, the reduced footprint, the increase in sustained filtration runs and the winery’s success with the first unit. Additionally, a longer membrane life is expected due to automated features that reduce the chance of membrane fouling. The crossflow microfiltration (CMF) system is equipped with 6inch diameter hollow fiber cartridges and provides nearly twice the production capacity as the existing 5-inch cartridge system within the same footprint. The new CMF system for Woodbridge Winery consists of a three-stage WF-22 SIS CMF system including 66 KMS WINEFILTER hollow fiber membrane cartridges and is constructed in a ‘grape cluster’ manifold design to minimize the overall equipment footprint and accommodate space limitations. Says Drew Scott, project engineer at Woodbridge: “The SIS system has the flexibility to operate both continuously and in a batch mode. Additionally, KMS has provided us with excellent after-sale support, which establishes a strong relationship.” kochmembrane.com On Watch for Those Mishaps by john peter koss B everage production lines operating at 900 bottles per minute or higher and can lines operating at about 3,000 cans per minute have raised the question: How effective are on line monitoring applications? Observations, investigations and discussions covering soft drink, water and beer lines revealed some interesting scenarios. A prime question was: At current high speeds, which items can or should be accurately and efficiently monitored with some control device? At slower line speeds, devices and systems used to detect malfunctioning areas did not present a problem. However, the highspeed line/complex technology scenario has made the importance and/or value of instantaneous line analysis a questionable issue. Consensus has it that line malfunctions, even if detected immediately, may not allow appropriate or available corrective action. Further indications are that bottlers focused on maximizing up time, reducing waste and increasing output have not made on line monitoring a priority. Apparently, experience has shown that problems on high-speed lines occur so rapidly it is difficult, if not impossible, to take timely corrective action. After reviewing package attributes and program applications for several high-speed line situations, the question of data accumulation and use became an issue. What was monitored, what was revealed and what action was taken based on the data? This becomes a practical and realistic point for beverage producers. In many instances, application results (touch screens, print outs, et al) after being analyzed provided a mixed bag of conclusions. In retrospect, various product attributes have always been monitored on line with electronic or photo devices. Other detectable items such as missing closures, fill heights or even misapplied labels also have been subjected to monitoring device applications. These product attributes will continue to be monitored in a reasonably effective manner with improved concepts and devices. Most manufacturers have been able to cope with the higher speeds and maintain effectiveness of their product. So why is on line monitoring important? One basic reason is the speed with which material processes and packaging lines operate. Unless beverage producers possess the capability and capacity of instantaneously discovering process or machinery malfunction in 1. product handling, 2. container preparation/filling and 3. final packaging, the cost of product loss (yield) and packaging loss (containers, closures, lids) can reach huge proportions. A final point, equipment manufacturers are now in the next generation of built-in monitoring capability—a capability, beyond product detectable items, that will immediately detect and shut down malfunctions in single or multi-machine configuration. Beverage producers should benefit from these developments. BW John Peter Koss, a beverage operations advisor, has more than 45 years of beverage business experience associated with General Cinema Beverages, Carling Brewing and Pepsi-Cola. He was an assistant professor of industrial engineering at Kent State University. Contact him at Tel: 305.829.3631; Fax: 305.829.2484 BEVERAGEWORLD.COM MAY 2008_BEVERAGE WORLD_53 http://kochmembrane.com http://BEVERAGEWORLD.COM
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