About Us
A Glance At SmartFlow Technologies
With over 35 years providing tailored filtration solutions, we have the experience and infrastructure to help you achieve your business goals.
Corn Ethanol Stillage Filtration System
About SmartFlow Technologies
Concentrating Nature’s Bioactivity
We are a technology company built around patented open-channel filtration modules that deliver custom, high-value separation solutions. We target applications where high-solids recovery is essential, often replacing or complementing centrifugation, evaporation, spray drying, or other drying technologies. When high shear would damage product or heat would denature sensitive molecules, SmartFlow’s gentle, uniform flow paths preserve quality while concentrating value.
We specialize in identifying, integrating, optimizing, and automating continuous processes that leverage both permeate and retentate. By combining complementary technologies in series, we deliver complete solutions, not just unit operations, that raise yields and lower costs in complex separations. Our teams engineer for consistency and scalability, from development through automation, so systems run smoothly day-to-day and expand seamlessly across multiple sites.
We continue to serve high-value biopharmaceutical applications including multi-location programs in corn ethanol stillage, dairy, precision fermentation, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, food & beverage, specialty separations, process water, chemical processing, FOG separation, starch recovery, and digestate. As a technology company, we focus on automated manufacturing of our TFF modules, process solution design, and smart system design. As a provider, we partner with market leaders to bring solutions forward and we support end-users directly when that’s the fastest path to results.
Sanford, NC Manufacturing Facility
Headquartered in Sanford, NC
SmartFlow Technologies designs, manufactures, and supports filtration systems from our headquarters in Sanford, North Carolina. This facility houses engineering, fabrication, and testing under one roof. This allows us to maintain the highest quality standards, shorten lead times, and collaborate closely with customers as we scale solutions from lab to full production.
Additionally, the Applications Development Laboratory in Crete, Nebraska focuses on feasibility testing with customer media, giving clients real-world data and confidence before scaling into full operations.
ConSep® II 11000 Modules in Holder
Why Customers Choose Us
Customers choose SmartFlow to increase yield, improve product quality, and reduce operating cost; all within their existing process framework.
Our HSTFF™ systems are designed not only to solve a specific separation challenge, but to simplify the overall process by combining multiple steps into one efficient operation.
Engineered for Results:
- Open-channel flow path handles high-solids and viscous streams with consistent throughput
- Optimized shear and flow control maintain stable performance during continuous processing
- Modular, linearly scalable design enables stepwise plant expansion while minimizing redevelopment cost
Designed for Efficiency:
- Integrated process design often replaces several conventional unit operations
- Simple integration with existing control systems and automation platforms
- Membrane dewatering/pre-concentration reduces evaporator and dryer load, cutting energy use and CO₂ emissions
SmartFlow’s Customers
Markets
Corn Ethanol Stillage
Ethanol plants continuously manage suspended solids, emulsified oils, and water balance through fermentation, evaporation, and drying. SmartFlow’s High-Solids Tangential Flow Filtration (HSTFF™) platform provides a modular, retrofit-ready solution for clarifying stillage and recycle streams. This reduces steam consumption, stabilizes fermentation, improves oil recovery, and extends evaporator runtime.
Value to Operations:
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Remove 100% of suspended solids and entrained oil from the mid-stillage stream to protect evaporators, improve oil recovery, and reduce dryer load
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Remove suspended solids and emulsified oil from the backset before recycle to fermentation. This improves yeast health, heat-transfer performance, and plant-wide water balance
- Enables tuning for optimal enzyme dosing (small fines removed by absolute filtration technology)
Stillage Concentrate for Dryers (left)
Clarified Stillage for Evaporators (right)
Dairy Production
We concentrate dairy products to higher total solids without the plugging and frequent cleanings that limit traditional UF. The result is a steadier feed to drying while keeping thermal exposure low to protect protein functionality, solubility, and flavor. Low-heat separation improves product quality before it ever reaches the dryer.
Value to Operations:
- Higher feed solids for increased dryer throughput
- Better Product Quality via Low-Heat Separation: Minimal thermal/mechanical stress preserves protein integrity, solubility, color, and flavor
- Lower Fouling, Longer Runs: Fewer interruptions and longer intervals between CIP, with tighter, more repeatable specs
Milk Protein Concentrate
(for MPC & MPI Powder Production)
Precision Fermentation
High-density fermentation produces complex, high-value streams that challenge traditional separation methods. SmartFlow’s open-channel tangential flow filtration (HSTFF™) provides a robust, low-shear alternative to centrifuges and depth filter enabling cell harvest, product recovery, concentration, and water reuse within a single integrated operation.
Value to Operations:
- Process dense fermentation broths directly, without pre-dilution or multiple separation steps
- Up to 100 % cell recovery with high-solids pastes (up to 95 % wet weight)
- Protect cells and proteins through low-shear, open-channel design
- Integrate directly with fermentors for automated continuous harvest, diafiltration, and water reuse
Precision Fermentation System