Industry sector: Hygiene products, cosmetics and perfumes
Company activity: Production and packaging of cosmetics – Manufacturing of perfumes and toiletry products
Company type: SME
Company founded: 2000s
Contacts: Manufacturing manager – Site technical manager – Maintenance manager – Utilities technician
Company context
This company is a subcontractor for cosmetic and parapharmaceutical brands, for which it manufactures and packages various liquids. Its production lines use several filtration stages: liquid filtration, reverse-osmosis water production, and air filtration.
Reverse-osmosis water production is supplied by the utilities department. The pretreatment upstream of the RO unit plays a crucial role in protecting the reverse-osmosis membranes (service life). It provides sediment and particulate retention (solid particles such as sand or rust present in raw water) and dechlorination of city water using activated carbon (in the form of columns, lenticular discs or cartridges). Downstream of the RO unit, at the start of the distribution loop, a 0.2 µm filter with a membrane validated by a Bacterial Challenge test generally ensures control of the “bacterial” risk and any potential RO failure.
Regarding air filtration, it is used mainly in production areas, i.e., controlled-atmosphere rooms. The filtration implemented is a 2- or 3-stage configuration: prefiltration using a G4 filter medium, followed by high-efficiency filtration of types F7–F8–F9. Absolute filtration with H13 or H14 filters secures the weighing rooms.
Filtration challenge
The client was facing recurring delivery-time issues with its suppliers of capsules, filter cartridges and filter bags, particularly for the production of perfumes, emulsions and creams. This problem was all the more significant because the production schedules did not allow accurate anticipation of filter restocking.
In addition, the users we met absolutely required filtration solutions that would guarantee the absence of bacteria on the production lines while ensuring the protection of both the raw materials used and the finished products produced. 0.2 µm safety filtration was needed upon receipt of raw materials (spring water) and at final filling.
Pemflow filtration solution
To significantly reduce our client’s filtration budget, we proposed an alternative range of filtration equipment, in particular for filtering thick products such as creams, for filtering lotions and thermal waters, and for the pretreatment of the water supplied by the utilities department.
Our filtration expertise enabled us to introduce:
- Filter cartridges for safety filtration before the final packaging of finished products, in order to avoid any risk of contamination of the packaged products.
- Capsule filters (single-use monobloc filters) to be installed directly in line on production circuits.
Expert advice
The biological-grade capsule filters (meaning each capsule filter undergoes a test to validate membrane integrity) can be easily integrated into a production system at a lower cost.
PES membrane capsule filters (polyethersulfone), naturally hydrophilic, ensure low protein binding.
These non-pyrogenic capsule filters comply with US FDA CFR Title 21 requirements and can be autoclaved multiple times (depending on the nature of the product being filtered).
- Filter bags in monofilament nylon or polypropylene filter bags for filtering thicker products.
- A 316L stainless-steel filter housing fitted with a 316L stainless-steel basket, washable and reusable, providing a major economic advantage compared with disposable industrial filter solutions.
Expert advice
316L stainless steel filter housings are strongly recommended for the filtration of pasty products and melting tanks.
Beyond recommending these new ranges of filtration equipment, we also:
- set up a buffer stock of these filtration elements, defined (filter references, quantities, etc.) with the various stakeholders,
- provided emergency troubleshooting on a pre-existing filtration device, which prevented a production shutdown,
- and ensured ongoing technical support and guidance.
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