Filtering Concentrate with Filter Press

[WestfordSugarworks]

I am wondering if anyone has tried filter pressing their concentrate. If you concentrate high, say to 15 Brix or more, might it be helpful at all to filter press that concentrated sap? I'm thinking of two benefits. 1) Being able to clean your pans, steamaway, etc. less often. 2) Change your syrup filter press papers less often. I was thinking that filtering your concentrate could remove some or even most of the niter that is in sap. Or would this not work because niter and other 'free' material is only able to be filtered after it has been boiled for some time. In my mind, you just run concentrate through the filter press and then send it into the evaporator. Anyone tried it?

[BreezyHill]

Most prefilters on ROs are 5-10 micron and filter press papers are around 40 microns. So I am not seeing any benefits to pressing concentrate.

Pressing at night upon finishing boiling for the night would have some benefit; but for me the time spent would not likely be worthy of the benefit I surmise.

Great Question!


Ben

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Niter is only released from suspension so it can be filtered out when the sap/syrup/concentrate reaches temps near the boiling point.

[Mel]

I don't think there is any niter in sap.

[WestfordSugarworks]

Thanks for the replies. Breezy Hill, we did that at the end of our boils if our press could run it all through without having to change papers. Thompson's, what you said is something I was wondering about today. I guess there is no point running your concentrate through a filter press if the stuff you are trying to remove cannot yet be removed.