It has been more than 10 years since H2O Innovation use Ultrafiltration technology into the water treatment by membrane filtration market. We are definitly pioneers in introducing this technology and transposing it to the field of maple syrup production. It was in 2014 when the first UF machine got into a sugar house. As of today, we now have 3 of those operating in the maple market.
Here are some important benefits of this technology:
– Ultrafiltration allows the sap or concentrate to pass through the pores of the membrane, but it limits the passage of bacteria and suspended matter. This process thus makes it possible to purify the sap or the concentrate in order to increase the preservation time and improve the purity of the product. Currently the technology is used by producers who sell sap (around 2 Brix) for bottling, and to some customers who want to buy a concentrate of maple sap that is in between 20 and 45 Brix as a sweetening agent. Maple sugar (not evaporated in the form of concentrate) is a natural and organic sugar with a low glycemic index. Demand in the food market is very strong for natural sugar, and even more so for maple sugar.
– Many producers are selling their concentrate to companies who are using this as a sweetening agent substituting refined sugar.
– Some producers use filtered maple sap for bottling, particularly for sale of the recently popular bottled maple sap water.
Read an article on H2O’s Ultrafiltration used in a big sugarbush (French) : HERE
Read an article on maple sap treatment (French) : HERE