The stainless steel magnetic rod basket filter helps European food additive enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency.

2026-05-08

Background

A food additive manufacturer based in the Netherlands, specializing in fruit dextrose syrup, plant extracts, and emulsifiers, supplies its products to several beverage and bakery food factories in Western Europe. In the autumn of 2024, the iron ion content of its fruit dextrose syrup products fluctuated continuously. Some batches reached 6.2 ppm, exceeding the 2.0 ppm limit set by the customers.

Challenge

The original single-stage basket filter in the production line was only equipped with an 80-mesh filter screen, which could only intercept visible particles larger than 180 micrometers. It was completely unable to remove micron-sized ferromagnetic powders (with particle diameters mostly ranging from 5 to 50 micrometers) generated from raw sugar syrup, old stainless steel pipes, and wear from centrifugal pumps. Moreover, the fructose-glucose syrup was transported at 65°C, with a viscosity of approximately 200 cP and a flow rate of about 12 m³/h. A slight increase in pressure drop would trigger an alarm on the production line. The customer does not wish to add additional power equipment or frequently stop the machine for cleaning.

Solution

In October 2024, the customer selected a stainless steel magnetic rod basket filter. The specific configuration is as follows:

The magnetic rod material is made of neodymium iron boron permanent magnet. The surface magnetic field strength is 10,000 gauss. There are 5 rods arranged in a full-flow channel grid pattern.
The precision of the filter screen has been increased to 150 mesh (approximately 100 micrometers), which is used to collect carbonized particles and non-magnetic impurities such as fibers.
The cylinder body and all components in contact with the medium are made of 304 stainless steel. The inner surface is polished to a mirror finish to prevent material residue.
Design pressure: 1.0 MPa, allowable pressure drop: 0.2 MPa, interface diameter: DN65, compatible with the original pipeline size.
Equipped with quick-opening flanges and pull handles, the magnetic rod assembly can be easily removed by a single person for cleaning.
The filter is installed on the pipeline after the evaporation and concentration process and before the finished product storage tank. It operates independently without being in parallel.

Effect

Iron ion content meets standard: The test results after one week of the filter's operation showed that the iron ion content in the fructose-glucose syrup decreased steadily from 6.2 ppm to 0.8 - 1.2 ppm, fully meeting the customer's requirement of ≤ 2.0 ppm.
Pressure drop stability: After continuous operation for six weeks, the pressure drop of the filter remained within 0.12 MPa, which was significantly lower than the alarm threshold of 0.2 MPa. No production halt alarms were triggered.
Easy cleaning and maintenance: As the magnetic rods have captured the vast majority of ferromagnetic powder, the clogging speed of the 150-mesh filter basket is significantly slower than that of the original 80-mesh filter net used alone. The cleaning frequency has been reduced from twice a day to twice a week, and each cleaning takes approximately 15 minutes.
Controllable operating costs: The permanent magnets do not require electricity, and the magnetic rods have no consumables. Only regular wiping of the iron sludge adhering to the surface is needed. Financial accounting shows that the monthly operating cost of the new filtration system (including labor for cleaning) is approximately 40% lower than that of the original system.