Application Bulletin

Increasing the Value of Olive Oil with

Pall SUPRApak™ Technology
Overview
The quality of olive oil is dictated in large part by
olive varieties and conditions of their growth. The
wax content in these oils is a quality attribute of
concern, as consumers often prefer bright, clear
products at typical storage temperatures. Waxes
originate on the skins of olives, and are found in
higher amounts in olives grown in hot regions and
in olives of certain varieties. These waxes are
released into the olive oil during processing.
Waxes form white clumps or haze in olive oil at
cooler temperatures, affecting its visual appeal.
Waxes also negatively affect flavor profile, masking
some of the fruity and spicy flavor notes, which are
sought after in premium olive oils.
Each SUPRApak SW7700LW module is a dense package
Olive oil producers are interested in removing the of filter sheet material, providing exceptional throughput and
waxes from their oils. They may employ excellent filtrate quality.

winterization techniques, or various combinations

of settling, decanting, centrifugation, and filtration. produced. The higher market price needed to
justify the investment to achieve the required quality.
The Challenge The technical solution was the reduction of waxes
Every year, an olive oil producer dealt with a so that when the product was cooled to 12-14 ºC
significant volume of high wax oils in their (54-57 ºF) it remained bright and visually clear.
production; such oils commanded only a low
The Solution
market price. About 500 tons of oil fell into this
category. The product was stored in tanks for Pall SUPRApak technology provided the solution
settling, however this approach was insufficient to to this customer’s need. By implementing this type
remove the waxes. of filtration after settling and decantation, the
customer realized excellent filtrate quality, which
The economic driver for improving the olive oil
provided a three to four-fold increase in its
quality was the potential to command a higher
commercial value.
market price if a better quality oil could be

Figure 1: Process flow diagram

Wax Removal

Mechanical Tank Storage

Pressing (Settling / Decanting)

Tank Storage Filling

During full scale piloting at the customer’s site, adsorptive mechanisms of filtration that normally
Pall’s Scientific and Laboratory Services occur in filter sheet media, resulting in the
demonstrated successful wax removal, yielding a maximum use of filtration capacity. SUPRApak
bright and optically clear product. Figure 1 shows modules are intended for providing extremely high
the main process steps used. throughputs especially in continuous production
Three SUPRApak SW7700LW modules in a 3-high processes.
SUPRApak housing processed 32 m 3 (8454 US A SUPRApak module is a dense pack of filter
gal) of olive oil before filter change-out was sheet material wrapped around a central permeable
necessary. Change-out was based on continuous core. The sheet material is punched with an
monitoring of filtrate quality, and subsequent intricate pattern of feed and filtrate channels,
chilling of the filtered oil samples showed that the separate from one another, which direct the flow
oil maintained its clarity. of the fluid through the entire filter package. The

Figure 2: Schematic representation of SUPRApak module with edge flow filtration mechanism

For an illustration
of the flow path of
fluids in a
SUPRApak module,
click here.

The capacity of the SUPRApak modules is driving force of differential pressure pushes the
influenced by several factors, including type of fluid from the feed channels (red arrows) through
olive oil, upstream treatment of the oil prior to wax the sheet media parallel to the sheet surface
removal, process temperature, and the required (purple arrows), toward the filtrate channels. The
filtrate quality. Field experiences have shown filtrate channels (blue arrows) then carry the fluid
capacities up to 62 m3 (16,380 US gal) per module. toward the center core where it exits the module.
SUPRApak SW7700LW modules are SUPRApak SW7700LW modules can be stacked
manufactured using a filtration matrix uniquely from one to six high in one filter housing, providing
suited to wax removal. While also effective in an extremely compact footprint of approximately
removing coarse particles over approximately 15 0.5 m 2 (5.4 ft 2 ), representing approximately 8-50 m 2
microns1, the key benefit is the clarification of the (86-538 ft 2 ) of filtration area.
oil due to the wax removal. While SUPRApak
modules are not targeted to handle high
suspended solids loads in olive oil production, they
provide highly effective trap and polishing filtration.
The SUPRApak housing
The modules are installed in a fully enclosed, low is fully enclosed, available
in modular configurations,
hold-up volume housing, which provides additional and available with a
product protection by limiting exposure to light and complete accessory
package for easy
air. There are minimal product losses, and installation into existing
pressurization of the assembly at the end of pipework.
filtration further increases product yield.
The unique performance of SUPRApak modules is
due to an entirely new flow configuration called
“edge flow”, shown in Figure 2. This edge flow
principle maximizes the surface, depth and

1 Removal
performance of sheet-based products is highly dependent
on process conditions and flux rates used.
The Benefits
Olive oil producers can achieve effective wax
removal to improve the quality and market price of
their oil. Excellent filtrate quality, coupled with many
additional benefits, enabled the customer to satisfy
their production goals.
• Enclosed system for product protection
• High product yield
• High throughput at low investment cost
• Low labor, maintenance, and downtime costs
• Extremely low installation footprint
• Easy integration into existing system

About Pall Corporation

Pall Corporation is a global filtration, separation
and purification leader providing solutions to meet
the critical fluid management needs of customers
across the broad spectrum of life sciences and
industry. We work with our customers to advance
health, safety and environmentally responsible
technologies.
Pall Food and Beverage provides products and
services to ensure product quality and maintain
process reliability in beverage and food production.
Our solutions also assist in consumer protection,
the reduction of operating costs and waste
minimization.

Pall Food and Beverage Visit us on the Web at www.pall.com/foodandbev

Pall Corporation has offices and plants throughout the world. For Pall representatives
25 Harbor Park Drive in your area, please go to www.pall.com/contact
Port Washington, NY 11050
+1 516 484 3600 telephone Please contact Pall Corporation to verify that the product conforms to your national
+1 866 905 7255 toll free US legislation and/or regional regulatory requirements for water and food contact use.

Because of technological developments related to the products, systems, and/or

[email protected] services described herein, the data and procedures are subject to change without notice.
Please consult your Pall representative or visit www.pall.com to verify that this
information remains valid.

© Copyright 2012, Pall Corporation. Pall, and SUPRApak are trademarks of Pall Corporation.
® Indicates a trademark registered in the USA. Filtration. Separation. Solution.SM and
Total Fluid ManagementSM are service marks of Pall Corporation.

FBABSPOOEN August 2012