Fruit Juices
The Westfalia Separator® frupex® process makes it possible for the first time to use decanters and separators in a complete processing line, rendering the conventional pressing method with its many disadvantages superfluous. Continuous process management can be individually adapted to suit all operating steps from juicing the mash to clarifying retentate in conjunction with the innovative membrane filtration system.
Key benefits of the method:
- Increased yield
- Reliability
- Flexibility
- Premium quality
Complete process line from GEA Westfalia Separator Group for obtaining apple juice / Westfalia Separator® frupex® process
In the continuous process, the raw material is crushed, heated if necessary, juiced and clarified.
The key factor here is that fruits are handled much more gently than is possible with the conventional press method. The valuable constituents are largely retained so that an extremely high product quality is achieved.
For the industry, Westfalia Separator® frupex® is also synonymous with another key benefit: the yield is increased when obtaining juice.
Juicing with Westfalia Separator® frupex® is suitable for practically all types of fruits which can be used commercially. Even the smallest batches can be processed quickly and easily. Continuous production in a closed system means increased microbiological safety and hygienic process management. Substances which determine value can be extracted selectively. The result: always uniform juice quality with a defined trub content.
Intelligently combined: membrane filter and clarifying centrifuges
In order to separate even particles of a size < 1 μm from the juice to allow juices of absolute clarity to be produced, membrane filtration, which operates without further filter aids, has now become established in the beverage industry.
However, this innovative method does entail the so-called retentate being left over at the end of filtration. This retentate is a mixture of concentrated solids of up to 60 percent by volume and a proportion of fruit juice of over 40 percent by volume – in other words, much too much recoverable fruit juice just to neglect. In the retentate recovery process, decanters and separators from GEA Westfalia Separator have proved to be the method of first choice.
Process management of retentate and membrane filtration in obtaining juice
The solids content of the retentate is set to a defined value, heated briefly to an effective process temperature and separated into a solid and a liquid phase by a centrifuge. The desugared solids occur in a proportion of dry substance of over 30 percent and in apple processing, for example, can be sold together with the pomace directly as feed.
The residual solids content of the juice obtained is now in the range from only 0.2 to 0.3 percent, which means that this juice can be returned to the production process without any losses.
To relieve the strain on the membrane filter and thus increase capacity, fruit juice manufacturers also utilize the option of installing a separator upstream of filtration, proper which also separates starch.
Another option is to use a clever combination of separator and membrane filter: a clarifier works on the bypass and relieves the load on the filter by the exact amount required. The partial flow principle allows the utilization of a relatively small separator with correspondingly low capital investment. On the other hand, the extended service life simplifies the operating process and reduces the quantity of waste as much as maintenance and spare parts costs for the membrane filter.
Process line for Westfalia Separator® frupex®
- Systems and Processes from GEA Westfalia Separator for the Fruit-Processing and Juice-Making Industries
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- Westfalia Separator® frupex® (process animation)1:14 min.
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