Brine Sanitation by Micro Filtration (MF)
Cold sanitation of cheese brine by GEA Filtration - COLDSAN^TM
Salt brine is used to cure many different varieties of cheese. Its microbiological composition is as important as its salt concentration in cheese making. Since disposal of salt brine is very expensive and often prohibited due to the high salt content, it is preferred to be recovered and reused, which makes brine cold sanitation one of the best quality improvements in cheese factories.
Cheese brine may contain undesired microorganisms, such as gas-producing lactobacilli, pigment producing micrococcus, pathogenic bacteria, yeast and mould. Microfiltration is a superior technology for sanitation of cheese brine since it physically removes the undesired microorganisms, dead cells and physical contaminants from the brine without making a significant change to its chemical composition. Microfiltration is simple to operate and easy to install in connection with the existing brine systems.
Polymeric MF membrane elements are widely recognised as the most effective method for cheese brine clarification with a lifetime that has been known to exceed five years.

Data sheet	Application	Download link
COLDSAN™	Cheese brine

Advantages for customers
GEA Filtration Brine Sanitation Unit - COLDSAN^TM has the following advantages:

• Minimum loss of water and salt
• Clean and clear Brine
  • Total removal of physical impurities
  • More than 99 % reduction in total bacteria count
  • No undesired enzymatic activity
• Low retention of Ca and N
• No protein denaturation
• No precipitation of calcium phosphate

Other profits

• No additives
  • No changes in pH
• Simple and flexible process and easy operation
• CIP possibility
• Reduced corrosion in plant
• Standardized “Plug & Play” Unit

Capacities

	Brine15	Brine30	Brine45	Brine60	Brine75	Brine90
Number of modules	1	2	3	4	5	6
Module size	6”	6”	6”	6”	6”	6”
Area m2	28	56	84	112	140	168
Flow l/day	15,000	30,000	45,000	60,000	75,000	90,000
Flow l/h	750	1500	2200	3000	3800	4500
Retentate l/h	4-7	7-15	11-22	15-30	19-38	22-45
Permeate l/h	743-746	1485-1493	2178-2189	2970-2985	3762-3781	4455-4478
CIP-flow l/h	8,400	16,800	25,200	33,600	42,000	50,400
Installed power kW	3,7	5,2	8,5	10,5	15	16,5

NOTE: The data stated above should be understood as theoretical figures only and NOT as guaranteed figures. The calculated flows are based on clean cheese brine. It can take up to three months before the plant reaches the average capacity.

Larger Brine Pool volumes and fully automated plants are engineered individually.

Polymeric Microfiltration Plant for Cold Sanitation of Cheese Brine
The cold sanitation of brine is mainly made by taking a stream from brine pool to brine cooling and sending it through the microfiltration plant back to the pool. The impurities are constantly removed resulting in a higher degree of purity in the brine pool.

It can also be done by taking the feed from the used brine pool, through microfiltration plant and sending to another pool for the clarified brine.

GEA Filtration Brine Sanitation Unit - COLDSAN^TM can be used in both ways.