BRINEX: a comprehensive solution for reusing brine

Cheese – it’s one of the Netherlands’ most famous export products, and something we are quite fond of ourselves at Wafilin Systems. An important part of the cheese-making process is brining. Brining tends to generate an excess of brine water which is unsustainable and expensive to dispose of, both in terms of transport and treatment costs. Together with CEVAP Technology, Wafilin Systems has developed a comprehensive, sustainable solution for the recovery of brine from the excess brine water, which offers new possibilities and benefits to our customers.

Current brine treatment 

During the brining process, salt is added to the cheese to improve its taste and extend its shelf life. For every gram of salt that goes into the cheese, 2 grams of water leaves the cheese, creating an excess of brine. This excess must be disposed of, which is very expensive and harmful to the environment. Current brine treatment technology is primarily focused on removing microbes and contamination to maintain the stability of the brine. By using microfiltration or ultrafiltration, the cheese manufacturer can return the brine to its original state. This will not reduce the excess, however. Moreover, the high atmospheric pressure of brine means that additional filtration techniques are unable to effectively remove water from the brine. As a result, excess brine volumes have to be removed by truck.

A comprehensive solution

In 2019, Wafilin Systems entered into a partnership and testing programme with CEVAP Technology. Together, the two companies succeeded in developing BRINEX: a comprehensive solution for reusing brine. BRINEX helps companies recover the brine from the excess, which significantly reduces transport and treatment costs. This solution is based on the unique combination of a special evaporation technology and microfiltration.

The system uses microfiltration to clean the surplus by blocking fats and filtering bacteria from the excess brine. Next, a small plastic evaporator is used to evaporate the excess brine, drastically reducing its total volume and leaving only pure water in the form of condensate.

Benefits for our customers

Both the treated brine that is filtered out of the excess brine using microfiltration and the condensate released during the evaporation process can be used by our customers in their processes. This makes BRINEX a sustainable and profitable solution. Wafilin Systems is excited to introduce this unique package to help customers limit their brine excess while contributing to a cleaner world.

Keep an eye on our website and social media channels to stay up to date on all the latest news and developments of the BRINEX system!

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