Filtration Index

Why do we filter? ...................................................................................................................... 3

Objective................................................................................................................................ 3
Haze ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Pre-filtration clarification....................................................................................................................................................... 4

How filters work ........................................................................................................................ 6

Objective................................................................................................................................ 6
Surface filtration..................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Depth filtration ....................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Filtration Formula................................................................................................................................................................. 10

The Filter Stream........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Filtration performance ........................................................................................................ 11
The choice of Filters ............................................................................................................... 12
Objective.............................................................................................................................. 12
The Plate and Frame Filter................................................................................................................................................... 12
Candle Filter. ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Horizontal Screen Filter. ...................................................................................................................................................... 18

Filter Development.............................................................................................................. 20
The Filter Stream..................................................................................................................... 21
Objective.............................................................................................................................. 21
Filtration Stages .................................................................................................................. 22
Pre-coat ................................................................................................................................................................................ 22
Safety .................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Beer filtration........................................................................................................................................................................ 22
Filter Turn around ................................................................................................................................................................ 23
Post Green Beer filtration.................................................................................................................................................... 23

Beer stabilizing filtration. ....................................................................................................... 24

Objective.............................................................................................................................. 24
Filtering................................................................................................................................................................................. 24
Regeneration ........................................................................................................................................................................ 25

Bright beer............................................................................................................................... 32
Page 1 of 33

Objective.............................................................................................................................. 32
Carbonation......................................................................................................................... 32
Cleaning............................................................................................................................... 33

Page 2 of 33

Why do we filter?
Objective
To identify why we filter.

Matured beer, however bright, still contains some yeast and haze particles.
Beer has to be clear when packaged
This is mainly because:
The consumer expects clear beer
To prevent further biological changes taking place during or after packaging due to yeast
or haze particles
Filtration involves passing un-clarified beer through a porous medium.
Some of the solids are retained in or on the medium. The clarified product stream passes
through. The size of the pores and the depth of the filter path determines the size and
number of the particles which are retained by the filter medium.
Beer contains a variety of solids. Conventional filtration can only remove the yeast and a
number of bacteria.

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The red lines show the particle sizes (as per the grid at the top). The green lines show the
sizes that the type of filtration can remove.
You can see that conventional filtration will remove yeast and most bacteria. It wont
remove much haze.
Haze
You might be surprised, because you thought filters removed haze.
Well they do, but not by direct filtration.
The haze is adsorbed by compounds such as Silica Gel (see Maturation Chapter for more
detail). These particles (which are large) are trapped on the filter. So the haze is removed,
but indirectly.
Some filters use PVPP as a separate filter. This directly removes haze.
Pre-filtration clarification
During maturation, sedimentation of yeast cells should occur. The total solids load
influences filter performance. Pre-clarification of the beer prior to filtration will generally
improve filter performance.
Solids removal will be improved by:

Length of maturation time - the longer the more solids will settle

Clarification agents such as finings

Page 4 of 33

Maintaining low filter temperature, below 00C. This prevents the haze material
re dissolving.

Yeast with a cell size around 3 to 5 microns in diameter is relatively easy to remove by
filtration. The fine suspended proteinaceous solids that are smaller than 1 micron are
more difficult to remove and can still present filtration problems.

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How filters work

Objective
To identify how filters work.

Every filter has a type of membrane.

This is the area which either blocks or traps particles passing through. Membranes in
conventional filtration are:

tightly woven or compressed sheets of fibre

Photomicrograph of a filter sheet
surface. See how it is built of tightly
locked fibres. Filter sheets are
generally made with cellulose fibre,
diatomaceous earth, perlite, and a
resin for bonding. This gives dry and
wet strength.

beds of powder

Powder is generally different grades of Kieselguhr and/or perlite.

Kieselguhr is the fossil skeleton of marine or fresh water microscopic organisms. It is also
called diatomaceous earth (DE).
Perlite is volcanic glass.
Both are milled to a standard size for use in filtration. Perlite is generally more coarse.

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Photomicrograph of Perlite or volcanic powder.

Used normally as 1st pre-coat or coarse feed.

Highly magnified photo of diatoms used as a process aid in filtration. Used normally as 2nd
pre-coat and body feed.
There are 2 fundamental types of filtration:

surface filtration

depth filtration

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Surface filtration
These filters usually consist of filter sheets through which the beer has to pass. The sheets
are held in place by perforated plates. (See Plate and Frame filter.).
The filter membrane holes are sized
to stop particles passing through. Solid
particles are retained in the membrane.
This continues until the pores are
blocked.
In this system no particles larger than
the hole size can pass through. This
is described as absolute filtration.

As soon as all the holes

are blocked, filtration
stops.
You can see from the
graph that there is a direct
correlation between usage
and filtration rate.

The advantage of this filter is that you can control exactly the size of particle which is let
through. For example you could use sheets which trap yeast but not bacteria. Use a finer
sheet and you will trap bacteria as well. Finer still and haze particles could be trapped.
The disadvantage is that it slowly decreases in efficiency as the holes get blocked.
Generally the sheets also have to be destroyed after use. They cannot be regenerated.
This type of filter is rarely used in breweries today as it is expensive to run. Some
breweries do still use them to give a final polish to the beer.
Depth filtration
This type of filtration relies on building up a bed of filter material. The filter bed material
is either Kieselguhr or Perlite. The filter bed is usually supported on plates or candles.
Plates or candles are perforated and allow the filtered beer through. The perforations are
not big enough to let the Perlite and/or Kieselguhr through. The perforated area is known
as the septum. The filterable particles are smaller than the bed pore size. However
because the bed is thick it is difficult for the particles to pass through. They become stuck
Page 8 of 33

in the channels. The filter bed is continually built up by the addition of more Kieselguhr as
the beer passes through the filter. This is necessary to keep more channels available for
use

Depth filtration - mechanical

The filtration rate

decreases only relatively
slowly during the filtration
run (providing an optimum
body feed is injected)
There is a sudden drop
off as the filter beds start
to touch and the flow
channels start to become
restricted.

% of maximum filter rate

Decrease in filtration rate over time

(with optimum body feed)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Time from start (mins)
(

The filter aid is used to build up a cake on the filter support (or septum) of the filter. The
filter septum (around 50 to 80 micron) is much coarser than the particles that are to be
removed. These are normally yeast and bacteria at 1 to 8 micron. So the cake does the
filtering, not the filter support.
The diagram refers to a candle filter: See filtration (3) for details on candle filters.

Page 9 of 33

Precoat
(coarse)

Support
discs

Beer flow

Beer flow

Body fe e d
(fine r)

Kieselguhr

The first pre-coat

uses coarse material
in the range of 20 to
40 micron to bridge
across the holes in
the support or
septum. This is
usually added at
around 1 kg of
powder per square
meter of filter area.
This coat is to form a
support for the finer
second coat. The
finer second coat will
do the actual
filtration.

The second pre-coat uses finer material to form a fine depth filter bed to trap the particles.
The coarser range of this material has particles in the range of 10 to 20 micron, while the
very fine grades have particles in the range 2 to 10 microns. The powder is usually added
at around 1 kg per square meter of filter area.

As the unfiltered beer is

run through the
filter more
kieselguhr
(body feed) is
dosed in line.
This continually
increases the
size of the bed
and keeps the
filter bed open.
The filter aid
used is normally
the same grade
as that used for
the 2nd pre-coat.
Dosage varies according to the quality of the feed beer, from 40 to 120 g/hl of beer filtered.
Ultimately the filter beds touch each other and the filter has to be cleaned and restarted.

Filtration Formula
The conventional method for calculating the rate of liquid depends on the "permeability"
of the filter medium. The lower the permeability of the filter medium, the higher the
Page 10 of 33

pressure drop across the filter. The lower the permeability, the slower and more difficult
the liquid is to filter. The relationship between the different filter characteristics is covered
by Darcy`s Law: (Dont worry if you dont follow this: Its not essential)
The rate of flow of a homogeneous fluid through a porous medium is proportional to the
pressure or hydraulic gradient and to the cross sectional area normal to the direction of
flow and inversely proportional to the viscosity of the fluid
Therefore for best results i.e. maximum filter throughput, the filter should have :

A large surface area

The bed should be permeable i.e. the coarser the better

The greater the differential pressure the greater the throughput

The lower the resistance (thinner filter cake) the greater the throughput

However, these conditions relate to throughput and not quality. The filter pores must be
sized to retain the required solids and only to allow the clarified liquid through. The finer
the grade of filter powder the smaller the particles removed (down to 0.5 micron).

Filtration performance
The performance and operation of the filter room is critical in obtaining the best results
during filtration.
Important aspects for filter performance include:

Quality of beer for filtration

Filter turn round time (time to empty, wash and sterilise a filter between beer
runs).

Filter flexibility in terms of run length and change over between types of beer

Disposal of effluent

Degree and sophistication of automation required

Typical performance required from a primary filter:

Haze - less than 0.8 EBC for lagers

Yeast - less than 5 yeast cells per 100 ml.

Dissolved Oxygen (foreign gas) pickup - less than 0.1 ppm

The other beer quality specifications depend on the beer supplied to the filter and the
performance of ancillary equipment, such as carbonators and beer dilution equipment.

Page 11 of 33

The choice of Filters

Objective
To identify the types of different filter available.

There are three styles of filter commonly used. Their relative merits depend on

the nature of the beer being processed

the product mix

the acceptable revenue and capital costs

The Plate and Frame Filter.

This filter consist of a series of
vertical plates. The plates
support a filter sheet. This is
used to support a bed of
Kieselguhr for filtration.

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Hollow
plate
Exit
hole

Inlet
hole

The Beer is fed into the frame

section and flows through the
filter aid and filter pad into the
hollow filter plate and on to the
Bright Beer Tank.

Perforated
support
plate

Sheets may be reused until they finally become clogged with Kieselguhr.
Backwashing the filter will extend sheet life.
Characteristics:
Beer filter flow rate
Pre-coat flow rate
Water consumption

3 to 3.5 hl/m2.h
6 to 7 hl/m2.h
78 98 hl per 100 hl/h.beer

The filter has the advantage of being robust and of relatively simple design.
Advantages
Filter slurry can be discharged dry
Simple design low maintenance

Disadvantages
High labour requirement for washing
off & changing filter pads
Slow turn around time
Page 13 of 33

Low beer losses because of low filter

volume
Good for longer runs on same quality
of beer.

Usually requires sterilization after

each run
Costs in replacing filter pads
Difficult to keep top of filter pads free
from infection
Split pads can cause filter aid to bleed
into bright beer
Cannot be fully automated

Page 14 of 33

Candle Filter.
The candle filter consists of a series of vertical mounted rods or ridged candles. These
have metal rings or supports to hold the filter aid. They are housed in a vertical cylindrical
vessel.

Filter head

Division Plate

Outlet

Filter
bed

Filter body

The beer flows

through the kieselguhr
bed, up the centre of
the candles into the
top cavity and on to
the Bright Beer Tank.
It is important that the
flow ensures an even
distribution of beer
and filter aid across all
the candles.

Support
candles
inlet

Sludge outlet
Precoat
(coarse)

The kieselguhr forms

a bed on the holes of
the candle. This is the
first or pre-coat bed.
It acts as a support for
the final filter bed.

Support
discs

Beer flow

Beer flow

Body fee d
(finer)

Kieselguhr

Page 15 of 33

Candle: The fine

holes are just visible.

Characteristics:
Candle diameter
Candle spacing
Beer filter flow rate
Pre-coat flow rate
Water consumption

20 35 mm
60 90 mm
3.5 to 6 hl/m2.h
7 to 12 hl/m2.h
45 76 hl per 100 hl/h. beer

Page 16 of 33

The filter is robust with a high throughput and no moving parts.

Advantages
Can be fully automated low/
negligible labour required
Simple design low maintenance
High throughput - good for longer
runs on same quality of beer.
Filter surface area increases
throughout run as powder builds up
on the outside of the candles.

Disadvantages
Spent filter cake is usually discharged
wet effluent costs
Higher beer losses due to large
volume of water/beer interface.
Sensitive to pressure shocks

Page 17 of 33

Horizontal Screen Filter.

Beer is fed
either through
the top or the
bottom. This
should give an
even flow of
rough beer
and body feed
across the
surfaces of all
the plates. The
beer flows
through the
filter aid and
mesh into the
central column
and on to the
Bright Beer

Leaf filter in section

Page 18 of 33

These filter screens consist of a series of

fine stainless steel mesh stretched over a
horizontal leaf. These are housed in a
vertical cylindrical vessel. The weave of
the mesh is quite coarse. This requires
the use of a coarse 1st pre-coat to bridge
the holes.

Beer flow

Support
Screens

Diagrammatic representation of the filter

screen The kieselguhr forms a bed on the
holes of the leaf. This is the first or
precoat bed. It acts as a support for the
final filter bed.
Note that the bed only forms on the top of
the septum. The bottom does not have
holes

Characteristics:
Frame thickness
Spacing between frames
Beer filter flow rate
Pre-coat flow rate
Water consumption

25 35 mm
35 40 mm
5 to 8 hl/m2.h (some now claim 10 hl/m2.h)
7 to 12 hl/m2.h
20 30 hl per 100 hl/h.beer

Since the filtration surface is confined to the upper leaves, the filter cake is very stable. It
can be safely held for extended periods of time without the risk of filter cake slippage.
Cake discharge is achieved by a rapid spinning of the central filter column. This throws the
filter aid to the side of the tank for dry cake discharge.
Advantages

Disadvantages

Fully automated low/ negligible

direct labour required
Good where shorter filter runs are
required
Dry cake discharge for easy disposal
to land fill.
Low beer loss as beer can be drained
down to be collected by special
scavenging plates located at the
bottom of the filter vessel.
Low sensitivity to pressure shocks

Rotating cake discharge system adds to

maintenance costs
Electrical energy is required for cake discharge.
The capital cost per unit filter area is higher than
in the other designs since only the upper surface
of the leaves are available for filtration.

Page 19 of 33

Filter cake is stable between product

runs
The horizontal screen filter is ideal for processing smaller volumes of beer or when there
are frequent changeovers.
The same filter can be used as a regeneration filter for stabilizing bright beer with PVPP.
A number of similar vertical screen filters exist which are a hybrid between Candle and
Horizontal screen filters.

Filter Development
For environmental and health and safety reasons many brewers would like to move away
from the use of filter aids in primary filtration, however at present there few alternatives.
A new generation of horizontal screen and candle filters is being developed. These have
reduced screen sizes. This reduces the need for a coarse body feed and reduces the
overall filter aid consumption. It also makes the filter aid more suitable for recycling.
Another system which has attracted a great deal of interest is Cross Flow Filtration, where
the green beer is pumped around in parallel to the filter membranes, and bright beer is
forced through the membrane and collected as bright beer.
Cross flow membranes filters are currently being used for recovering beer from waste
yeast and in cider filtration. At present there are no commercial units operating on green
beer.

Page 20 of 33

The Filter Stream

Objective
Understand the filter stream process.

Most filters require a steady flow rate to ensure an even flow of beer and filter aid across
the filter surface to avoid hydraulic shock.

Beer is often supplied from remote maturation vessels which can cause
pressure fluctuations on tank change over.

The bright beer tanks which are filled from the filter will exert an increasing back
pressure on the filter as the tanks are filled. This will increase the outlet pressure
and reduce the overall filter run length.

To avoid these problems it is good practice to fit a pre and post filter buffer tank. These will
also take care of hydraulic shocks. The balance flow conditions between the buffer tanks
also makes it easier to control additions such as high gravity dilution water and carbon
dioxide.
With higher differential pressure loadings across the filter or with split pads in the case of a
plate and frame filter filter aid can bleed through into the finished beer. This is avoided by
installing a trap or guard filter after the primary filter.

During cold storage (below 00C) chill haze polyphenol and protein derived molecules
combine to form chill haze and these will be removed by the filter. However the chill haze
rapidly re-dissolves if the beer warms up and hence it is good practice to install a trim
chiller before the buffer tank and to ensure all the pipe-work is fully lagged.
Page 21 of 33

Filtration Stages
Pre-coat
In primary filtration the pore diameter of the filter pad or screen is too coarse to hold back
yeast and other suspended solids. Adding filter aid (powder) to form a bridge between the
filter elements reduces the filter pore size. The finest filter powders available generally
produce pore sizes in the range of 0.45 micron, which is sufficient to remove all yeast and
a high proportion of bacteria. Beer coming off a primary filter is not considered sterile.
The first stage pre-coat is usually coarse and this is followed by a finer grade of filter aid.
Typical pre-coat rates used are:
1st Pre-coat - 1 kg per cubic meter of filter area of Coarse grade powder
2nd Pre-coat - 1 kg per cubic meter of filter area of Fine grade powder
Body feed
Body feed is dosed in with the beer throughout the filter run at between 40 and 100 g/hl of
beer, depending on the amount of solids in the beer.
The filter aid is mixed up in a separate dosing pot with de-aerated water to minimize
oxygen pick up.
Safety
There is a possibility that kieselguhr and other filtration powders may induce lung damage.
All powder handling areas should be thoroughly ventilated with extractor fans.
Operators should wear masks and eye protection.
Beer filtration
Once the primary filter has been pre-coated, de-aerated water followed by beer is run to
the filter. Filter powder (body feed) is dosed into the beer prior to entering the filter. Where
appropriate de-aerated dilution water and carbon dioxide is added to the beer after the
filter.
The filter run continues until :

The differential pressure (Inlet / outlet) exceeds operating conditions)

The filter body becomes full of powder (filter plates touch).

There is no more beer to filter.

The operating conditions over the filter exceed specification. The key filtration
parameters are beer haze and oxygen pick up.
Page 22 of 33

Filter Turn around

Once the filter run is complete, de-aerated water is used to chase through the bright beer
and the filter is washed off.

The filter aid is usually run to solids storage tank and removed as wet cake to avoid
effluent charges.

The filter is cleaned and CIPd to remove solid debris

The filter is sterilized prior to re-use.

Post Green Beer filtration

For many breweries green beer filtration is the only filtration used. It is common to have a
guard or trap filter circa 1 micron pore size to trap any filter powder which may pass.
However some breweries may also use a secondary filter as:

Polishing filter to remove any fine material and produce a brighter beer

Sterilizing filter (either cartridge or sheet) with a pore diameter of 0.45 micro to
produce a sterile beer.

Stabilisation filter where PVPP can be added to stabilise the bright beer by
adsorbing the polyphenols prior to packaging. PVPP can be regenerated.

Page 23 of 33

Beer stabilizing filtration.

Objective
Understand the PVPP (PolyVinylPolyPyrolidine) filtration process.

Filtering
Before starting, the filter is flushed to remove oxygen and a pre-coat of PVPP is laid down.

The beer is then run through the filter with a body feed of PVPP at between 10 and 30 g/hl
depending on the polyphenol level in source beer and the shelf life required.

Page 24 of 33

The filter run continues until :

The filter void becomes full of PVPP.

There is no more beer to filter.

Regeneration
Once the filter run is complete and chased through with water the PVPP is regenerated in
situ:

The filter cake is flushed with cold water

Page 25 of 33

The filter cake is then flushed with warm water

Page 26 of 33

The filter cake is given a caustic soda wash (2% at 800C) to remove bound
polyphenols. There are usually two caustic rinses first to drain and second to
recovery for the first rinse in the next cycle.

Page 27 of 33

First caustic rinse

Page 28 of 33

Second caustic rinse

The cake is then rinsed with warm water again.

Page 29 of 33

The cake is neutralized with dilute acid to pH 5.

Page 30 of 33

The slurry is returned to the slurry pot where it is checked for concentration (10%
slurry in water) ready for re-use.

Some breweries store the slurry warm to avoid microbiological problems.

Page 31 of 33

Bright beer
Objective
Understand the storage parameters of bright beer.

Bright beer is a storage zone between filtration and packaging. The beer has been filtered
and brought into specification for packaging.
In order to ensure quality, the maximum temperature and time of storage should be
specified:

Maximum storage time in bright beer tank is usually between 24 and 72 hours
depending on the specifications. Any longer runs the risk of infection developing.
Also there is the possibility of gas pressures affecting the overall carbonation
specification of the beer.

Maximum storage temperature is usually 30C, but may be as high as 50C.

Level of carbon dioxide the solubility of carbon dioxide is inversely proportional to

temperature. This means the warmer it is the more difficult it is to keep gas in
solution.

The maximum temperature permitted at the filler bowl. Beer will often pick up 1 or 2
degrees C on transfer from bright beer tank to filling. So bright beer temperature
should be at least 2 degrees cooler than the required filler bowl temperature.

The storage time and general microbiology of the area. Cool temperatures suppress
microbiological growth.

Some Bright Beer tanks are jacketed as well as lagged and can therefore be
temperature regulated. Others can pick up around 10C per day .

Carbonation
Bright beer is a carbonated product.
The carbon dioxide has to be kept in solution.
Typically Bright Beer carbon dioxide levels are between 4.5 and 6.0 grams of carbon
dioxide per litre, although specialist beer may be packaged outside this range.
This means that the Bright Beer Tank must be filled and maintained under a gas back
pressure. This is usually in the range of 1 to 1.5 bar. It can be an inert gas. It is usually
carbon dioxide but can also be nitrogen. Nitrogen is becoming very popular, particularly in
Ales and Stouts , as a sparkler gas. The use of a back pressure keeps the gas in
solution.

Page 32 of 33

A back pressure is also required to prevent the foam breaking out. This would lead to a
loss of foam potential and a risk of haze being formed from collapsed foam.
For similar reasons the tank should be kept cold.
Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen is more easily dissolved (and kept dissolved) with
decreasing temperature.
Thus at a lower gas temperature, less gas pressure is required to keep the specification
level of carbon dioxide in solution.
For example:
Beer temperature

Gas volume required

Pressure needed (kg/cm2)

2.5

0.474

2.5

0.791

Cleaning
Bright beer tanks are normally cleaned with an acid solution. They are normally cleaned
under pressure. This avoids the waste of Carbon Dioxide in re pressuring a tank.

Page 33 of 33