An Adelaide-based manufacturer is growing its business tenfold on the back of a new wine filtration system which uses titanium membranes.
The titanium filtration membranes, which extract maximum solids with minimal cleaning, have been launched commercially in South Australia, and are driving the business of Advanced Material Solutions (AMS) forward – and fast.
AMS began commissioning its first commercial units last month and plans to ramp up its workforce from 26 to more than 200 to cater for burgeoning global demand.
Managing director Gilbert Erskine said the membranes, which can extract solids up to 80 per cent, were so strong that they could run 24-hours a day for a week.
Previously, polymeric (plastic) or ceramic filters, which have extraction limits of around 10 per cent, could spend 30 per cent of their time in cleaning modes, which often included chemicals.
Erskine said his Viti-flow membrane could be easily cleaned in minutes with steam or hot water up to 90°C.
“We have the ability to change that micron and that comes down to the strength of the titanium because as you go up in pore size you are traditionally weakening the support structure, but titanium can withstand it,” he said.
“There are people claiming to make titanium membranes, but there is no one else in the world that we know of producing small pore titanium membranes in commercial quantities.”
The systems are initially being aimed at the wine industry, where they have shown the potential to increase production by more than seven per cent.
