In our new content series, Donaldson explores common process integrity challenges in the food and beverage industry, starting with a real-world filtration issue in wine production.
In Part One, Katherine Marchetti, Donaldson’s Alcoholic Beverages Sector Lead, investigates a wine filtration misadventure and shares expert recommendations to help wineries avoid costly downtime.
The Scenario: Wine Filtration Failure During Bottling
A winery opted to use a crossflow filter on white wine a week before bottling, deviating from their usual schedule. On bottling day, the wine passed through standard prefiltration (1.0 micron absolute) and into 0.45 micron PES membrane filters. But the differential pressure spiked, halting production after only a third of the wine was bottled.
Despite the wine being racked and clear, colloidal particulate had reformed, causing premature fouling of the membranes.
What Went Wrong in the Filtration Process? Q&A with Donaldson’s Filtration Expert
What’s at risk for the winery?
Extended downtime, increased labor, and higher filter replacement costs.
What caused the production halt?
The most likely culprit is colloidal particulate causing premature fouling of the membranes. The more time that elapses between the crossflow filtering stage and the membrane, the harder the membrane will have to work. This is especially true with white wines- if more than 24-48 hours elapse, fine particulate (proteins such as colloids, beta glucans, etc.) that was broken up upstream has a chance to reagglomerate.
How do colloids and β-glucans affect wine filtration?
Proteins such as colloids can contribute to haze and cloudiness in wine. Meanwhile, proteins such as beta-glucans can create a gel-like, viscous matrix in the wine, making it challenging for standard filters to operate effectively.
We often see β-glucans (beta-glucans) issues when there has been prolonged rain, with wet and/or humid growing seasons creating filterability issues. These proteins can clog membranes quickly, slowing down the filtration process and requiring more frequent filter changes.
What filtration solution does Donaldson recommend?
A tighter prefilter (PP100N 0.6 µm; PES 0.65 A µm) will keep the membrane loading to a minimum and allow the PES membrane to function as it should, as a last line of defense, to protect product integrity and ensure compliance with quality standards.
How could this have been avoided?
Running a filterability assessment just prior to bottling would have saved the winery a lot of time and a new set of filters, as they would have seen that filtration may not run as smoothly as it has in the past. A filterability test would have shown that the easiest thing to do at that point would be to use a tighter prefilter, closer to 0.45 micron, and reduce the flow rate down to better utilize the available surface area.
Should prefiltration be adjusted if upstream processes change?
It would certainly have helped in this situation, yes. To avoid surprises in the bottle shop, filtering through pads or using crossflow no more than 48 hours before (ideally, within 24) would have been a better approach. Alternatively, they could have run the wine through tighter prefiltration stages to save the membranes from premature fouling.
Donaldson’s Recommendations for Wine Filtration Success
To avoid similar issues, wineries should:
- Use Donaldson PP100N filters (available in 1.0, 0.8, and 0.6 µm) for robust, back-flushable prefiltration.
- Consider PES prefilters alongside final membranes for enhanced protection.
- Request a filterability test from Donaldson’s Filtration Services team.
- Schedule a line audit to identify process changes (e.g., new pumps) that may affect filtration.
- Treat final membrane filtration as a critical control point (CCP) to ensure compliance and product safety.
Protect Your Wine Production with Donaldson Filtration Systems
Donaldson offers advanced process filtration solutions tailored for the food and beverage industry, helping wineries maintain quality, efficiency, and compliance. Contact our team to optimise your filtration strategy today.
