Application Bulletin
Reduced Fermentation Costs for Food Ingredients Companies
Overview
Food ingredients producers using fermentation as the base of
their process face pressures from food manufacturers for
lower pricing and increased output without compromising
quality. These fermentations are among the most
challenging in the industry with 10 to 100 m3 fermentors
followed by complex purification steps. Reaching yield
targets is a key factor for competitive advantage. One
microbial contamination can lead to yield decrease or even
complete fermentation batch loss. Contamination may also
result in capacity loss and increased cleaning costs that may
jeopardize overall profitability of the plant.
Contamination control of all process fluids makes the
difference. Air purity during propagation and production
used at up to hundreds of Nm3 a minute is critical.
The Challenge
One major amino-acid producer faced similar issues in
lowering its operating costs while improving security of
contamination control.
Bacteria selected for the production of amino acids can be
highly sensitive to bacteriophage contamination. Air
injection at the fermentor inlet is a Critical Control Point
(CCP), where sterility of air is a determinant parameter to
protect the yield.
To obtain and maintain sterility, the demanding conditions
could only be achieved using membrane air filters. A
significant consideration to ensure cost-effective reliability
was mechanical resistance of the filter cartridges.
The Solution
Pall Corporation, market leader in sterile air filtration for
food fermentations, has developed expertise and capabilities
to optimize air quality cost-effectively. Pall Emflon® filter
cartridges are the industry standard for efficiency and
reliability.
The hydrophobic double-layer PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)
membrane of the Emflon PFW cartridge provides the high
retention removal required to prevent contamination risk.
The comprehensive validation program of the Emflon PFW
filter, including aerosol challenge tests with bacteria, spores,
phages and sodium chloride, in various operating conditions
(forward and reverse flow, high air flow, high humidity),
liquid validation, combined with mechanical resistance data
(forward and reverse flow, different temperature/pressure)
was the basis of technical discussions to demonstrate
performance and reliability of the cartridge.
Specific validation studies were run on bacteriophage critical
to some products, leading to recommendations on air line
design and sterilization procedures for a better operation of
the process.
The large filtration surface area (0.8 m2 per 10" unit) brings
lower initial pressure drop, which direct leads to lower cost of
the air pressure required as well as longer filter life.
In addition to the benefits of the Emflon PFW cartridge, the
level of service provided by the Pall technical support team
was a real value. Customer-specific recommendations
included customized validations, air line design audits,
sterilization procedures and integrity tests.
The Benefits
The combination of exceptional product features and Pall’s
professional service support translated into cost-saving
benefits for the customer.
- Validated product protection, minimized risk of
contamination.
- Low cost of installation.
- Improved fermentation yield.
About Pall Corporation
Pall Corporation is the largest and most diverse filtration,
separation, and purification company in the world. We serve
the food and beverage industries with advanced filtration
technology, housing designs, and systems engineered for
reliability and cost effectiveness. Our technical groups
support food producers in the development and the
optimization of highly performing separation solutions,
accompanied with customized training service for long termefficient operation.
Pall’s solution to sterile air production brought tools for costeffective management of this critical control point to the
customer.
25 Harbor Park Drive
Port Washington, NY 11050
866.905.7255 toll free
516.625.3610 fax
foodandbeverage@pall.com
Visit us on the Web at www.pall.com
Pall Corporation has offices and plants throughout the world in locations
including: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China,
France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia,
Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,
United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Distributors are located in all
major industrial areas of the world.
© Copyright 2006, Pall Corporation. Pall,
and Emflon are trademarks of Pall
Corporation. ® Indicates a Pall trademark registered in the USA.
is a service mark of Pall Corporation.
FBAB 1005
10/06