March 2005 – Normally the pilot plants stand lined up, and work runs its
usual course at the R & D Center. These days, however, things are quite
different. Five companies have placed research orders simultaneously, and
partly very complex tests are running in several plants at the same time.
In a forced circulation evaporator, which has been especially modified for
this test, solvent constituents are being separated from a highly viscous
product. In the past, it was only possible to treat this product in thin film
evaporators. At the same time, odorants are being removed from a lactic acid
derivate, which is also being cleaned, in a stripping column. In the falling
film evaporation plant, latex waste water is being evaporated. Moreover, two
membrane filtration plants are being operated for analysis of sugar solutions
and preclarification of olive mill waste water.
There are certainly only a few companies which can master such a
concentration of applications. As in many other cases, GEA Wiegand is one step
ahead again. Where else does a customer have the possibility to test his
product in various types of evaporation and membrane filtration plants in order
to determine the optimum and most efficient production process on a pilot scale
already.