Gas Filtration Processing Steps

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Air is one of the most significant sources of potential contamination in your production environment. If the air used during your process is contaminated, it will be a threat to the quality of your product and potentially reduce its shelf life.

The air used to blow the bottles as well as CO₂ or any other gases injected in certain process steps must be free of particles and microorganisms.

Sizing Your Gas Filter

In most gas systems, the gas is dry and oil-free so that the filtration system is sized according to flow rate. The maximum allowable differential pressure is used to size a final filtration system. Gas face velocity in the pipe should be between 15 - 30 m/s for acceptable noise level.

Fermentation or higher pressure gas filtration is sized using the Ideal Gas Law, and the flow rate versus pressure drop curves for hydrophobic cartridges. Gas inlet pressure, temperature, flow rate, and pressure drop information are all required to size a filtration system economically. Typical gas systems are sized at 85 Nm3 /h (50 SCFM) per 10-inch cartridge and an initial differential pressure of 0.07–0.15 bar (1–2 psi).

Where to Use a Gas Filter

CO₂ Injected
Carbonation is the step of adding carbon dioxide to a drink. The carbonation step is present in the processing of sparkling water and sparkling soft drinks. The CO₂ you inject into your beverage must be free of particles and microorganisms.

CO₂ Adjustment
Carbon dioxide adjustment is a process specific to beer processing. The level of carbon dioxide that already exists in beer due to the fermenting process and yeast propagation, as well as the added carbon dioxide, must be adjusted appropriately to ensure a quality product.

Bottle Blower
Sterile filtration of Air/Nitrogen ensures the microbiological quality of the air used in the bottle blower to turn the pre-forms into the final PET bottle. Bottle blowing is done in any process using PET bottles.

Bottle Filler
You can also use gas filtration during the filling process of carbonated drinks. In order to make the filling possible, the filler bowl must be pressurized. It is also essential that the gas used is microbiologically stable.

Gas Filtration Selection Guide

Flow Rate Range (Nm3/h)	Cartridges
0-6	Optiseal®-M Aervent® (1 in.)
1-60	Optiseal® – Opticap® Aervent®
10-85	Aervent® – Aerex® (10 in.)
250	Polygard®-CR (30 in.) Aervent® – Aerex® II
5 000	Aervent® – Aerex® II (22 x 20 in.)
15 000	Aervent® – Aerex® II (85 x 20 in.)