FILTRATION BOTTOMS UP
C
harred oak barrels have long been used to impart complex
flavour profiles to distilled whisky. The hemicellulose, lignin and tannins of the base oak would not react efficiently with the whisky if the charring did not take place. Hemicellulose sugars caramelise during the charring, producing flavours such as walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds while the lignin adds floral elements of cinnamon and clove. Tannins influence colour and impart
oaky flavours as well as spice. The origin of the wood and the degree of charring all influence how various flavours are infused into the whisky. The charring process can also help in the purification of the whiskey in terms of the removal of sulphur compounds by the charcoal. It’s a process that is an inherent part of whisky production and is here to stay. While charred barrels are good for
the whisky flavour, small particles of charred wood are released into the whisky during maturation and these need to be removed prior to bottling. At one of the Scottish distilleries
the customer was finding premature blockage of the large format pleated
polypropylene filters leading to additional time spent on filter change outs as well as
increased operational cost
due to higher filter usage. The blockage issues were variable depending on the whisky type and the barrels used. Amazon Filters was asked to propose a filter that prevented this premature blockage. When using pleated depth filters the
aim is to have the particulate loading evenly spread throughout the depth of the filtration media. This ensures maximum dirt holding capacity while maintaining flowrates. The filtration efficiency throughout the depth is varied to try and achieve an optimal balance of filtrate quality and on-stream lifetime. The efficiency required on each of the filtration layers is dependent on the particle size distribution in the fluid being filtered. In this case, whisky. The most practical way of understanding
where the blockage is occurring is by dissecting the used filter and analysing the individual layers. The complete filtration depth is made from multiple layers of melt-blown and spunbonded filtration media with different efficiency rating. As the particulate being removed
50 / WELDING WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 05 - SEPTEMBER 2024
Conclusion The customised Amazon SupaPleat HFC filter used three filtration layers rather than the four on the previous filter. Even though a much thicker upstream layer was used on the customised Amazon SupaPleat HFC filter the overall thickness was less. This allowed the same filtration area as the competitive cartridge while ensuring better pleat separation. Pleat separation is important. Too close together and bridging of particulate across the pleats can occur. If this happens the full surface area of the filtration media is not used, and premature blockage occurs. The ability to modify standard filters
to improve the processing efficiency on whiskies; or in fact any liquid with varying particle distribution, is a real strength of a filter manufacturer. Large multinational corporations are often not willing to produce special products leading to missed opportunities for process improvements.
www.amazonfilters.com
is highly visible it is relatively easy to see where preferential blocking is occurring and customise the structure to provide optimum performance.
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