Costacurta S.p.A. VICO is an Italian company specialised in the designing and production of metal components for industrial manufacturers and architecture, serving markets worldwide. With a consolidated experience in the Made-in-Italy production, the company is based in Milan and has 2 production facilities in the province of Lecco. Since 1921, Costacurta has been operating in a lot of sectors (Food & Beverage, Energy, Textile, etc.) and its entire product portfolio originates from metal wires and flat wires. It includes:
• Filtering elements
• Conveyor belts
•Products for the Oil& Gas, chemical and petrochemical sectors
Costacurta S.p.A. VICO produces a wide range of filtering elements and conveyor belts to be used in count- less applications in different industrial sectors. These applications include beer production and pas- teurisation. Beer production and pasteurisation
For beer production, the most commonly used products are: VICO-Screen flat panels or perforated plated for Lauter Tun in beer filtration (lautering)
• VICO-Screen for microfiltration
• Conveyor belts for pasteurisation
For been production, Wedge wire screens are generally used: flat panels for Lauter Tun and candles with filtering materials.
Beer is produced by alcoholic fermentation. In this process, the barley malt grains are ground and mixed with hot water to allow the enzymes in the malt to be activated. Once the starches are transformed into sugars, the resulting solution is transferred into a large tank at the base of which there is a false bottom consisting of a VICO – Screen wedge wire screen or a stainless steel perforated plate, which acts as a filter.
The solution is drained through the holes in the filtering element, which retain the solid residues inside the tank. The solution drained through the filter passes to the next process- ing stages, i.e. boiling and hopping, cooling and oxygenation.
Flat panels for Lauter Tun. The Costacurta VICO-Screens for lauter tuns are made of stainless steel, guarantee full hygiene and are easy to clean.
Flat panels are obtained by flattening the machine-manufactured cylinders. The VICO-Screens are designed to retain materials, for filtering and sieving Correct filtration is essential to prevent the skins from pass- ing to the next boiling stage, causing the release of bitter substances in the beer. The components have regular and precise openings, which allow useful open areas and, con- sequently, very low pressure drop values through the filtering surface. The high number of welds also gives considerable mechanical resistance ensuring a long lifetime. The continuous opening and the triangular sec- tion of the wires allow only two points of contact of the particles, with limited risk of clogging. Furthermore, thanks to the smooth surface of the VICO-Screen, the abrasive effect is limited. On request, the VICO-Screen panels can be supplied with edging or reinforcement elements following the client’s specifications and draw- ings. Also, surface finishes can be applied such as degreasing, pickling and electropolishing. The VICO-screen filter candles are used in applications where a high filtering value is required.
In modern filtering systems, the VICO-screen filter candles allow high flow rates and minimum and easy maintenance, thanks to the ease of cleaning and limited clogging. The use of very slim profiles increases the open area and allows filtering of higher volumes of liquid compared to other filtering elements. Despite the small size of the wires, the filter candles, thanks to their structure, have a high pressure re- sistance.
On request, the VICO-Screen candles canbesuppliedwithsleeves/fittings, and surface finishes can be applied such as degreasing, pickling and electropolishing. Conveyor belts for pasteurisation Pasteurisation is a thermal reconditioning process that destroys all the pathogenic microorganisms present in liquid or semiliquid foods. It typically takes place at temperatures ranging approximately between 60°C and 85°C; this process increases the food shelf life and reduces the risk of bacterial contamination, keeping the quality of the product almost unaltered.
Products are generally pasteurised inside spiral towers or continuous tunnels. Spiral towers use all the necessary vertical space to guar- antee that foods pass through the pasteurisation unit for the correct length of time. Spiral towers are usually single or double and can have different setups to adapt to existing production processes and the available space. The Costacurta products used in this application are conveyor belts, which carry the food to be pasteurised into pasteurisation plants.
Thanks to the wide range of geometries, high quality materials and the production process, Costacurta conveyor belts are suitable for all types of continuous pasteurisation machinery, guaranteeing the highest level of hygiene and the best process performance.
Why choose Costacurta S.p.A.- VICO The advanced quality control systems on materials and production process create a high quality product in full compliance with the customer’s project specifications. Moreover, the availability of a wide range of products and the high production flexibility allow to respond to any customer’s need.
