Membrane filtration pilot units

Pilot units are ideal for developing new products, optimizing process parameters, testing different membrane types, achieving new concentration levels, and making product samples, etc. Pilot trial test results can easily be translated to industrial scale production.

There are applications throughout the food and beverage, dairy, chemical, biotechnology and fermentation industries in which membrane filtration excels. You can test a wide variety of applications, including clarification, bacteria and spore removal, fractionation, concentration and/or separation including diafiltration.

Our pilot units vary from small- to medium-scale and offer a wide range of capacities, depending on the application tested. The pilot units can simulate the operating behavior of full-scale production and can be adapted to run according to your required specifications. Data collected from pilot trials can then be used to determine process parameters for the design of future full-scale production units.

Renting pilot units

We provide rental pilot units for testing membrane filtration equipment and solutions at your facilities in connection with other process equipment. All GEA pilot units can be shipped globally, allowing you to perform tests – either on your own or with support from GEA – using your own raw materials and your own packaging. This method eliminates the risks associated with the storage and transport of raw material which can otherwise compromise testing.

In-house testing at GEA site

Alternatively, customers can elect to test filtration equipment and solutions at GEA test centers. Featuring state-of-the-art GEA pilot units, our facilities in Ahaus and Karlsruhe (Germany), and in Hudson, WI (U.S.) are optimally equipped to perform pilot studies on the full range of GEA membrane filtration technologies. Our diverse range of membrane types supports the processing of high-quality raw materials.

GEA pilot units are available in a wide range of membrane and module configurations, including:

• Forward osmosis (FO): for in-house testing only
• Reverse osmosis (RO): spiral wound
• Nanofiltration (NF): spiral wound
• Ultrafiltration (UF): spiral wound, plate-and-frame, ceramic
• Microfiltration (MF): spiral wound, ceramic and sintered stainless steel
• Membrane and module configurations for polymeric tubular and hollow fiber

Working with GEA means partnering with a supplier that has been in the membrane filtration business since its inception. Via our dedicated global team of experienced engineers and process experts, GEA offers the following pilot unit services:

• Feasibility testing
• Product development support
• Creation of product samples
• Process development and optimization
• Data generation
• Scalability analysis
• Simulation modeling

• GEA offers a broad range of pilot units for performing tests in the food and beverage, dairy, chemical, biotechnology and fermentation industries.
• Our pilot plants allow you to test a wide variety of applications, including clarification, bacteria and spore removal, fractionation, concentration and/or separation including diafiltration. We use the same membranes and process parameters used in full-scale production. This allows for an accurate data accumulation and comparison.
• Pilot studies may be conducted with our pilot units at your site – or at one of our GEA test centers in Germany or the U.S.
• We provide a full range of cross-flow membrane technology (RO, NF, UF and MF), ideal for developing new products, optimizing process parameters, testing different membrane types, achieving new concentration levels and creating product samples.
• We have close relationships with multiple membrane suppliers who support in process development, ensuring we can offer customers the latest and most efficient membrane filtration solutions.