Membrane Test Facilities at Karlsruhe R&D Center

Availability for laboratory and pilot plant testing for different kind of membrane filtration systems. European Test centre for GEA applications not related to dairy.

With state-of-the-art pilot plants and test benches our R&D Center is optimally equipped for testing in the fields of membrane filtration technology.

Most pilot plants are mobile so that it is also possible to perform tests on our customers' premises. In such a case the plants can be controlled and monitored by a remote control system. As a matter of course, the process data can be recorded and processed electronically.

Our physico-chemical laboratory is designed to determine and analyze important physical characteristics such as viscosity, boiling point elevation, thermal conductivity and maximum final concentration.

Moreover, complex quality parameters can be determined in our analysing laboratory with GC and HPLC.

We use the latest software and hardware to simulate the operating behaviour of the plants and adapt them to individual customer specifications. The determined process parameters and substance properties are directly used for the design of our plants.

The following pilot plants are available for testing:

Laboratory size test cell for flat sheet material to determine quality values with small product samples (RTZ)
Test rack for membrane screening for up to 10 different flat sheet materials for pre-selection of right membrane configuration (Mem06)
Three different small scale pilot units to test spiral would membranes in size 2540 mainly for UF, NF and RO. System for 40 and 64 bar in open loop operation (Mem02 / Mem03/Mem06)
Semi-automated pilot unit for 3838 / 3840 / 4040 membrane modules of MF, UF AND NF type also possibility to be equipped with ceramic module – pressure up to 10bar (Mem04)
Automated pilot unit for 3838 / 3840 / 4040 membrane modules of MF, UF ,NF and RO type also possibility to be equipped with two ceramic modules – pressure up to 40bar (Mem01)
Automated pilot unit for two 3838 / 3840 / 4040 membranes or one 6338/6340 or one 8038/8040 membrane modules of UF ,NF and RO type - pressure up to 64bar (Mem11)
Semi-automated pilot unit for one ceramic module of MF and UF – pressure up to 10bar (Mem10)

Combination of above stated systems and arrangements of process lines consisting of different technologies (e.g. membrane filtration, distillation, evaporation, centrifuge, decanter, dryer, etc.)