The Problem
The popularity of bottled water and clear beverages continues to rise in many countries. Consumers are drawn to the consistent taste, convenience, and health attributes that bottled beverages can provide.
Natural springs are one of many sources of water for bottled beverages. Waters pumped from spring bore heads are commonly filtered and treated before temporary storage in silos. Tanker trucks deliver these spring waters to bottling locations for further treatment. Filtration systems at the spring sites are the first line of defence in ensuring contaminant-free water at the bottling locations.
Spring site water quality can vary depending on the climate, location, seasonality, and age of the collection system. Common spring water concerns include silicates, bacteria, and heavy and common metallic contaminants. Micron and submicron particle removal efficiency filters are used to reduce the transfer of contaminants into the silo, tanker trucks, and downstream bottling facilities.
Two bottled water plants in the eastern United States previously partnered with us to solve challenges in their spring, bottling, and bottle-washing processes. These two customers partnered with us again to increase the service life of their submicron particle filters at the spring site locations.
The solution
Both customers were using 3M™ High Flow Series Filters at their spring site locations and were asked to evaluate the 3M™ High Flow Series 0.5μm line extension. The Application Engineering team provided pre-production filters at no cost to the customers, monitored the filters in service, and collected spent filters and water for analysis. The 99.9% (Beta 1000) efficient 3M™ High Flow Series Filter 0.5μm incorporates an accordion-style diamond shape pleat structure, which offers a substantial increase in surface area. The 3M™ High Flow Series Filter 0.5μm is for water bottlers who want the labour-saving and ergonomic benefits of a high flow, large format filter coupled with a lower total cost of filtration for their submicron applications by extending the life of existing, more expensive downstream filters.
The Result
The 3M™ High Flow 0.5μm Filters carried more of the contaminants burden than the existing 3M™ High Flow filters, which extended the service life of the downstream filters. The cost savings from increasing the time between changeouts of the expensive downstream filters far outweighed the increased cost related to the shorter service life of the 3M™ High Flow 0.5μm filter. Customer 1 saw a single 3M™ High Flow Filter 0.5μm extend the life of the (30) 3M™ LifeASSURE™ BLA045 downstream membrane filters. The 3M™ High Flow filters lasted 45 days
in service and the 3M™ LifeASSURE™ filters did not achieve terminal pressure during the 4-month trial. The (30) 3M™ LifeASSURE™ BLA045 filters cost 20 times more than the High Flow filter resulting in a substantial cost of filtration savings.
Customer 2 saw a 13% reduction in life moving from 3M™ High Flow filter 2.0μm to the 3M™ High Flow Series Filter 0.5μm yet achieved a 1.5X increase in 3M™ Betapure™ NT-T Filter service life. The 3M™ Betapure™ NT-T Filter costs 7 times more than the 3M™ High Flow filter resulting in a substantial cost of filtration savings.
About Solventum
When you begin and end with water itself, your process choices are critical—purification and filtration are at the very heart of what you offer your customers. From your source water to your cleaning water, begin and end with solutions from Solventum. See how at Food & beverage filtration and dissolved gas control | Solventum.
By using Solventum products, customers have access to Application Engineering support, a global team of market-focused scientists and engineers who excel in supporting collaborative efforts between customers and Solventum. Use this link to connect with our experts Support | Food & Beverage | 3M Australia.
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