Sector of activity: Manufacture of soaps, detergents, and cleaning products (NAF 2008 Code: 2041Z)
Company activity: The company specializes in the manufacture of organic and eco-friendly products for cleaning, hygiene, health and beauty, and cosmetics (soap, detergent, etc.)
Company type: French family-owned company
Company founding period: 1987
Contact(s): Methods Department
Company context
Since its origins, the company has been known and recognized for its expertise in the market of eco-friendly cosmetic and household products. Understanding natural systems, preserving them, and bringing their benefits to people and society—this is the mission of our customer. Nature has developed, over several billion years, active principles, ecosystems, and collective rules that make it a dynamically balanced, complex, fragile, and remarkably ingenious system. The company uses science to explore, analyze, and preserve these systems, and to apply this knowledge through services, principles, products, and a philosophy dedicated to collective well-being.
Filtration challenge
The Methods Department contacted us with the aim of replacing a filtration skid that was no longer suited to production requirements. In particular, our customer wanted to optimize filtration time and to be equipped with sanitary valves in order to carry out upstream and downstream sampling. In addition, it was imperative that the filtration skid be suitable for use in an ATEX Zone.
Namely
ATEX
Common term used to designate the regulatory framework, legislation, and directives governing the control of explosive atmospheres, as well as the standards for equipment and protective systems used within them.
The requirements are the filtration of hydrosols, micellar waters, and decoctions.
Pemflow filtration solution
We designed, developed, and manufactured an ATEX filtration skid featuring the following characteristics, in compliance with our customer’s constraints and requirements:
The skid is equipped with two 20’’ sanitary filter housings (bottom drains with clamp / top vents with pressure gauge). The skid is also fitted with bypass connection piping, provided only on the first housing downstream of the pump.
Focus on filtration consumables (Item 6)
The filtration sequence consists of two 20’’ filter housings, installed in series.
In the first housing, a 20’’ SupaSpun II cartridge from AMAZON FILTERS is installed.
These high-performance cartridges offer a high retention capacity as well as a very low pressure drop, resulting from the strict control of the matrix fiber manufacturing process. The fibers of the SupaSpun II cartridge are continuously thermally bonded onto the central core. The fiber diameter is controlled in order to produce several filtration grades. All layers are inter-bonded to ensure a maximum void volume while increasing fiber density, thus providing true depth filtration.
MATERIALS
Filter media: Polypropylene;
End caps: polypropylene, glass fiber reinforced (GFR); Cage/Core: polypropylene, nylon, stainless steel, glass fiber reinforced (GFR);
Seals: Buna, EPDM, FEP/silicone, FEP/Viton, Silicone, Viton;
FILTRATION CHARACTERISTICS
Available filtration ratings: from 0.3 µm to 180 µm; Filtration efficiency: absolute (> 99.98%);
DIMENSIONS
End cap configuration: all international standards available; Lengths: from 5” to 60”; Outer diameter: 64 mm;
OPERATING CONDITIONS
Operating temperature: up to 80°C continuous; Maximum differential pressure: 4 bar @ 20°C;
BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Sterilization & sanitization: Steam 121°C for 60 min (240 cycles), 135°C for 30 min (8 cycles) – Hot water: 90°C for 30 min;
QUALITY MONITORING
Full traceability by batch number; Individual certificate of conformity (optional)
Within the second housing, we selected a SupaPore VP cartridge from AMAZON FILTERS.
Manufactured using a naturally hydrophilic PES membrane, this cartridge offers low protein binding, exceptional flow rates, and low pressure drop. All cartridges are thermally bonded and contain no adhesives. Each unit is rinsed with ultrapure water and undergoes an integrity test prior to final assembly. These cartridges are compatible with numerous sanitization methods, including steam, autoclave, hot water, and chemical agents.
MATERIALS
Filter media: Polyethersulfone (PES);
End caps: polypropylene, glass fiber reinforced (GFR);
Cage/Core: polypropylene, glass fiber reinforced (GFR);
Seals: Buna, EPDM, Silicone, Viton, FEP/silicone, FEP/Viton, PTFE;
Available filtration ratings: from 0.03 µm to 1 µm;
FILTRATION CHARACTERISTICS
Filtration efficiency: absolute (> 99.98%);
DIMENSIONS
End cap configuration: all international standards available; Lengths: from 2” to 40”; Outer diameter: 68.5 mm;
OPERATING CONDITIONS
Operating temperature: up to 80°C continuous; Maximum differential pressure: 4 bar @ 20°C;
BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Sterilization & sanitization: Steam or autoclave 121°C for 60 min (240 cycles), 135°C for 30 min (25 cycles) – Hot water: 90°C for 30 min;
Bacterial challenge: > 10¹¹ (LRV > 11) at 0.2 µm (Brevundimonas diminuta) – > 10⁸ (LRV > 8) at 0.45 µm (Serratia marcescens);
QUALITY MONITORING
Full traceability by batch number; Individual certificate of conformity, laser marking of the batch number on each cartridge.
Expert advice
In addition to the filter media, it is essential to carefully select the filter housing used to perform sterilizing filtration. Using sanitary stainless steel filter housings with a mechanically polished finish to achieve a surface roughness below 0.8 µm ensures the absence of product retention and therefore prevents bacterial growth.
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