Inline liquid filters for honey

The Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter® provides a more efficient inline filtration solution for Norwegian honey processor and distributor, Honningcentralen

 
Founded in 1927, Norwegian based company Honningcentralen is a leader in the production and distribution of honey. Owned by approximately 1,200 beekeepers, the company is an agricultural co-operative with seven different types of honey in its portfolio (sourced from Norway, Croatia, Argentina and Ethiopia). 
 
The company moved from Oslo to Kløfta into a purpose adapted production facility, equipped with additional new operating equipment. As part of the company’s continued aim to supply good quality honey, a metal edge filter with a 63-micron screen was built into the new production line to remove foreign bodies from the honey such as wax and bee wings. The filter worked on an ‘outside-in’ principle, with the product to be filtered flowing through from the outside to inside of the filter element. The filter element rotated intermittently, brushing against the static metal wipers to remove debris. The existing filter was inefficient, continuously requiring manual cleaning resulting in down time and loss of production time.
 
Recognising that they were losing valuable time and profitability from this process, Honningcentralen sought to find a new solution to filtering honey. Russell Finex was recommended by Honningcentralen’s subsidiary office in Sweden. “Our sister company in Sweden had a filter from Russell and they were very happy with it” says Hege Bjørnbakk, Production and Quality Manager at Honningcentralen in Norway.
 
Drawing upon its experience in dealing with honey and other viscous food products, Russell Finex assessed the requirements of the company and recommended the Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter®. With its easy clean design, the inline liquid filter is simple to assemble and disassemble without the need for tools. This is a particularly useful feature for the company due to the characteristics of each strain of honey requiring a different screen size. 
 
Recognising that no two applications are the same Russell Finex prides itself in offering customers the opportunity to test any Russell machine with their product before purchase. Provided with this opportunity, Honningcentralen carried out an onsite trial with the Russell Eco Filter® within their existing production line to monitor the machines effectiveness in removing contamination from the different types of honey they process. The self-cleaning filter proved successful almost immediately and within a month the company purchased the machine.
 
With a more accurate filter screen and its unique SpiroKlene™ wiper system the Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter® has successfully eliminated the problems previously experienced by Honningcentralen. The filter’s unique SpiroKlene system continuously cleans the surface of the filter element meaning frequent blockages are no longer occurring. In addition, the pressure problems they were experiencing have been eradicated as oversize material can be manually discharged. Bjørnbakk confirms “an efficient production line with a throughput of 2,000 – 2,400 kg/hr was required, and the Russell Eco Filter® comfortably delivers this”. She continues, “the Eco Filter is better than our previous machine as the pressure is much lower and it removes all the unwanted particles from the honey”.
 
Following the successful installation of the Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filter®, Honningcentralen also purchased a Filter Management System™, to continuously monitor the filtration process. This system automates the discharge of the oversize material eliminating operator involvement and increasing production even further by enabling them to perform other tasks around the factory.