FDBusiness.com

Pentair Beverage Systems has delivered a Beer Membrane Filtration (BMF) System to SABMiller subsidiary Cerveceria Nacional in Guayaquil, Ecuador that replaces the brewery’s Diatomaceous Earth (DE) filter. Following the successful implementation of Pentair’s BMF technology at the Quito production site, it is the second Cerveceria Nacional brewery in Equador to switch from DE to BMF.

With an annual capacity of approximately five million hectoliters, the brewery in Guayaquil produces a wide range of beer brands including Pilsener, Pilsener Light, Club Premium and Dorada. The order is part of SABMiller’s strategic initiative to replace DE filtration systems in breweries worldwide with a more sustainable technology.

Pentair supplied Cerveceria Nacional with a fully automated turnkey membrane filtration line, including unfiltered and filtered beer tanks, membrane filter skids with an output of 400 hl/h, security filter, and a cleaning-in-place (CIP) unit. The system was put into operation in late 2012. At present, 75% of the beer production at theGuayaquilbrewery is filtered with BMF.

“SABMiller continuously looks for innovative solutions that provide sustainability benefits and help to optimize production processes,” says Gustavo Guimas, Manufacturing Vice President at Cerveceria Nacional/SABMiller. “Pentair’s BMF fits our strategy well as this technology eliminates the necessity of diatomaceous earth, decreases solid waste and at the same time offers easy handling and a constant beer quality. In addition, water consumption and beer losses are reduced.”

The compact modular design of the BMF skids makes it possible to filter more beer in a smaller footprint than other technologies. Moreover, membrane filtration ensures a constantly high beer quality as it is a permanent barrier to beer spoiling materials resulting in significant advantages in regard to the product’s taste and colloidal stability. For more information on Pentair’s BMF technology, visit www.pentairbeveragesystems.com.