FILTROX introduces FIBRAFIX® TX-R filter sheets for TCA, TBA and TeCA-removal
FILTROX is proud to present its latest innovation, the FIBRAFIX TX-R filter sheets, an effective new way to remove TCA, TBA and TeCA taint from wine and other beverages.
The FIBRAFIX TX-R filter sheet is a patent-pending method to remove TCA, TBA and TeCA without damaging a wine's aroma or flavor.
TCA (trichloroanisole) TBA (tribromeanisole) and TeCA (tetrachloroanisole) are a serious problem for the wine industry which is estimated to cost winemakers more than € 150 million annually. TCA, TBA and TeCA can be found in corks, oak barrels, storage tanks and other wine-making equipment. It has a moldy odor that people can detect in wine at levels as low as 5 parts per trillion. Surprisingly, even at levels from one to two parts per trillion, it can affect a wine's taste and bouquet.
Earlier methods have been developed to try to treat TCA, TBA or TeCA-tainted wine, but they have proven to be less than ideal. Polyethylene treatment methods are costly, time-consuming and diminish or ”scalp” the complex aromas that give a wine its rich bouquet and flavor. Methods employing the addition of milk-products are sometimes used, but they also reduce the aromas and flavors of wine and might result in the wine containing residual allergens. The traditional method of using mustard-seeds as a deodorizer to mask TCA is also associated with severe taste and aroma distortion effects.
”The filter sheet FIBRAFIX TX-R is more effective than those methods but doesn´t change the flavor of the wine and it's also a lot easier to use” says Dr. Juergen Ebert, Head of Filtrox’s Filter Media Research Department
Running TCA-tainted wine through the filter sheets into a clean tank will remove the offending chemical in one simple step.
The active agent in the FIBRAFIX TX-R filter sheet is an inorganic compound that has already received regulatory approval for treating wine and has been specifically engineered to remove TCA molecules. FIRBRAFIX TX-R is also extremely effective in removing tribromoanisole (TBA) and tetrachloranisole (TeCA) taint. TBA and TeCA are chemical contaminants similar to TCA and has a similar impact to wine.
FILTROX has been developed the FIBRAFIX TX-R filter sheet in close cooperation with G-3 Enterprises, Inc., a company from Modesto, California. G-3 developed a unique, patent-pending compound marketed under the name TRIEX which is capable of absorbing TCA, TBA and TeCA. FILTROX found a way of putting this compound into a filter sheet making its use easy and comfortable. The two companies have decided to enter inot a strategic partnership in establishing this new technology. “The combination of G-3’s research on adsorption and FILTROX’s know-how in filtration provided powerful synergies leading to the birth of an exciting new product” says Markus Saurer, sales manager filter media of FILTROX.
FILTROX, one the world´s leading companies for the filtration of beverages, was founded in 1938. The company is part of the FILTROX-Group headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland with sales offices and manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, the U.K., Spain, Czech Republic, the U.S., France, and Germany. FILTROX manufactures stainless steel filtration equipment as well as filter media such as filter sheets, filter modules, filter cartridges, and filter aids.
For more information, please contact
- Markus Saurer at +41 71 272 91 11 or m.saurer@filtrox.ch