GE Launches Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis System for the Beverage Industry

GE introduced a new ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) solution for water treatment in the production of beverages. According to the company, its integrated UF and RO technology is designed to process poor quality and challenging source water with optimal removal of particulates, microorganisms and total dissolved solids (TDS) while reducing the footprint and lowering costs.

Trevose/USA — The new technology, called Bevpak, incorporates GE’s Zee Weed 700B horizontal-designed, inside-out UF membranes with the BEV Series RO technology. It is suitable for solids tolerance and ingredient water production and removes equipment needed for air scouring.

By combining UF and RO on a single skid, the unit reduces the footprint by up to 30 % compared to using those technologies separately, the company claims.

Using Seven Bore fiber technology, the ultrafiltration unit uses blended polyethersulphone membranes, which allow the membrane to stay permanently hydrophilic and reduce the fouling tendency. The manufacturer's reverse osmosis technology is designed for production of ingredient water for carbonated soft drinks, juices, bottled water and non-carbonated beverages.

Key features of the new technology include a multibarrier process with NSF-certified membrane elements, reduced chemical cleaning frequency, installation simplicity, monitoring capabilities and membrane replacement frequency and Internet connectivity, which allows remote monitoring, after-hours diagnostics and troubleshooting.

The water treatment unit is manufactured at Water & Process Technologies' Minnetonka, Minnesota, facility. The plant produces filters, spiral wound membrane elements and equipment across the spectrum of membranes including RO, nanofiltration, UF and microfiltration for global water treatment and reuse.