The production of soft drinks involves the filtering of both sugar syrup and water used in the bottling process. The source and degree of refinement or purity of the sugar supplied for syrup making will largely determine the treatment and filtration needed. There may be as much as 0.8% by weight of impurities in unfiltered syrup and the colour requirements of the finished drink may require decolourisation of the syrup as well as filtration. Analysis of the available sugar should show the percentage purity of the sugar as well as impurity and colour levels.
In a recent example, the customer specified a maximum of 100 using the m.a.u. scale. The customer was using a 65% Brix sugar solution at 220 m.a.u. and consequently we recommended treatment with 0.4% by weight of activated carbon to bring the colour within specification.
Most syrups are produced using either the hot or cold method. Relatively dilute syrups are mixed at ambient temperature in a supply tank, filtered under pump pressure and hence to a holding tank. Syrup of high concentration or Brix value, will be produced by the hot process at 80 degrees C or higher, filtered and cooled as quickly as possible to avoid any bacterial growth. As the condition of the sugar will determine the degree of decolourisation and filtration needed, it is important to decide at the outset whether activated carbon treatment and any filter aid such as kieselguhr, will be necessary. This will allow the relevant filtration equipment and correct filter sheets to be specified. The expertise of Carlson's Technical Development Centre is available to help in this area. Carlson's high performance W2N support sheet is specially designed for this type of application. W2N sheets offer a number of benefits to the soft drinks manufacturer
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