Seital Separator

At Holland, we are committed consistently adding products to our portfolio that will help our customers with their sanitary process needs. By rounding out our product offerings, we are able to deliver novel solutions to complex processing problems our counterparts in the sanitary process equipment industry cannot. Today’s post will focus on one of our newest SPX product offerings- Seital separators and how they can be used in brewing applications to increase productivity and improve beer quality.

To begin, let’s take a look at how a Seital separator works in a beer application- or really any application for that matter. First, the mixture to be separated- usually beer or wort -is pumped in to the centrifuge. It enters the centrifuge through the centrally positioned inlet pipe. A distributor then guides the mixture into the separation area of the system. The separation area is made up of a stack of conically arranged discs. These discs spin at a high RPM. The short distance between discs (coupled with centrifugal force) forces solids through the discs to the outside of the bowl where they are ejected. The remaining beer or wort is then pumped out of the system through the outlet pipe.

So now that we have an idea of how this works, let’s look at why and where we should use a centrifuge for beer or wort clarification. One application where we see clarifiers used in the brewery is following the brew kettle, when the brewer needs to remove the protein and hop solids, or trub, prior to fermentation. In many small breweries, traditional filter media or whirlpools are used to filter the trub. By using a Seital separator, we are able to separate the trub and hop solids with maximum efficiency and yield to get bright and clear wort prior to cooling for fermentation.

Brewers have also found that Seital centrifuges can be gentler to beer than traditional filter media. The advanced sealing systems in the Seital separators minimize O2 pickup. Filter media, such as cellulose or diatomaceous earth, can strip flavor from the beer and have an environmental impact. Why do you think there are so many unfiltered beers on the market today? When used as an alternative to traditional Kieselguhr or diatomaceous earth filtration, we’re able to get the same clear bright beer without stripping out any of the hops characteristics that make a craft beer great. The Seital portable skids are ready for any application where you want all the benefits of filtering without the need for filter media.

Continually, Seital separators properly applied in a brewery quickly pay for themselves. Good, sellable beer is often trapped in the solids that collect in the bottom of fermentation tanks. Seital separators allow for more beer to be recovered from tank bottoms, allowing brewers to ship more beer from the same amount of raw ingredients. This return on investment helps to quickly offset initial cost of equipment.

Another advantage of using a separator is being able to increase production volumes without having to add more people. Seital separators come pre-skidded, prewired, and ready for plug and play use in the brewery. When used with turbidity meters and other automation features, brewers are able to achieve greater repeatability and higher quality standards without having to add additional staff.

In order to continue to improve the quality of one’s beer, a brewer must be willing adjust and refine their methods of processing. Craft brewers across the country are all discovery new applications where Seital clarifiers can be used to improve the quality of their product and the efficiency of their process. By using them to replace traditional filter media, automated, pre-skidded processing allows brewers to maximize throughput without compromising quality. If you have any questions about whether a centrifuge is a good fit for your brewery, contact a Holland Sales Engineer today.