Sartorius and Alfa Laval sign alliance agreement for innovation in beer filtration
The German-based Sartorius Group has signed an alliance agreement with Alfa Laval. The agreement creates a strong global position for the two companies within the beer filtration sector and provides for further development of a crossflow filtration system for beer, which is an innovative alternative to conventional kieselguhr filtration. The agreement also includes license and distribution rights for Alfa Laval in relation to Sartorius' sterile filtration technology for beer.
Sartorius and Alfa Laval have been cooperating for several years. This has resulted in the first process-scale crossflow filtration system, which was launched at the Brau Beviale 2002 trade fair in Nuremberg. This innovative system attracted considerable attention since it provides the same filtration performance as kieselguhr but without the drawbacks of this method. Therefore, an important part of the agreement is the further joint development of this technology. Until now, kieselguhr has been the established method for filtration or clarification of beer. Kieselguhr, also known as diatomaceous earth, is a filter aid that has known problems. For instance, kieselguhr has a negative impact on the environment, causes health hazards and entails waste disposal difficulties. The new crossflow system specially designed for beer filtration eliminates all the problems associated with diatomaceous earth, because the system uses porous membranes produced by Sartorius instead. In addition, the system ensures continuous and efficient operation, excellent beer quality and minimum product loss.
As part of the agreement, Alfa Laval will also join Sartorius in globally commercializing the Sartorius Cold Sterilization Technology for beer. This technology has already enjoyed major success in Asia, particularly in China and Japan.
Cold sterilization is a membrane-based filtration method for sterilizing beer without any heat impact. This method results in a high final product quality and in significant energy savings.
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