A Game-Changer in Water Safety – How Adelaide Beling Advanced Sartorius’ Filter Business

Sartorius Facts

Mar 05, 2025 | 5 min read

In the mid-20th century, ensuring clean drinking water was a pressing challenge. Dr. Adelaide Beling, a bacteriologist at Sartorius, played a pivotal role in revolutionizing water testing in post-war Germany by introducing the "membrane filter method." This innovation improved water safety, established new industry standards, and laid the economic foundation for the company’s filter business.

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Adelaide Beling's journey with Sartorius began in 1943 when she visited the University and the Membranfiltergesellschaft (MFG) in Göttingen, a subsidiary of the company. Born in 1891 with German-Dutch roots, the Russian bacteriologist led the waterworks lab in Kiev, Ukraine, at the time. Her visit, part of a business trip, aimed to demonstrate the new approach for bacteriological testing of water quality.

Horst Sartorius congratulates Adelaide Beling on ten years of service to the company, 1955

From Wet to Dry: Revolutionizing Filtration

What was new about the membrane filter method? It introduced dry filters, which differed significantly from the wet filters produced by Sartorius. Wet filters required storage in a water conservation agent and sterilization before each use, making them cumbersome. In comparison, the Soviet dry filters were far easier to handle.

Adelaide Beling's demonstration of the new method left a strong impression, prompting the MFG to adopt and develop their own dry filter production process. Impressed by her expertise, the company offered Adelaide a job to further advance their bacteriological testing capabilities. After initially declining the offer due to her commitments in Kiev, Adelaide eventually accepted the position as a bacteriologist in 1945.

"My initial task was to monitor the membrane filters for drinking water tests for coliform growth and to present and introduce the membrane filter method to leading hygiene institutes and water testing authorities. During this time, hardly a day went by without visitors from all over the world coming to our premises to learn more about the membrane filter method."

Adelaide Beling, 1957

The Membrane Filter Method – Simpler, Faster, More Cost-Effective

In war-ravaged Germany, there was an enormous need for effective monitoring of drinking and service water to quickly identify coliform bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella to prevent serious diseases and epidemics. The membrane filter method significantly simplified and accelerated the previous standard procedure for bacteriological water analysis by eliminating time-consuming work steps such as the laborious tapping of bacteria from the filter, centrifugation, or preparation for microscopic examination. Even large quantities of liquids could be tested quickly and reliably for bacterial count, even at low concentrations.

The Membrane Filter Method

1/3 | Dr. Adelaide Beling inserting a round filter into the “Coli 5 bacteria testing device”.

The Membrane Filter Method

2/3 | After filtering the solution to be tested, the bacteria are enriched on the surface of the filter by placing it on an appropriate culture medium. Through diffusion of the nutrients, clearly visible bacterial colonies develop on the surface of a filter.

The Membrane Filter Method

3/3 | Documentation of experiments in a laboratory book.

The Equipment

Advertisement for the “Coli 5 bacteria detection device”.

The Consumables

Advertisement for nutrient discs including membrane filter for the detection of E. coli.

Ready for Take-off: Scientific and Economic Success of Sartorius’ Membrane Filter Company

In 1955, the efforts of Sartorius, and particularly those of Dr. Adelaide Beling, were rewarded when the membrane filter method was officially recognized as the standard for drinking water and wastewater testing. This milestone was reflected in the production of coliform filters, which assess water quality and potential contamination. Their handmade output increased sevenfold: from 75,000 in 1950 to an impressive 550,000 filters in 1956.

A successful start! Membrane filters have become indispensable in the examination of viruses, bacteria and bacteriophages. – We owe this to Dr. Beling

Gertrud Keese, Operations Manager and Procurator of MFG, 1952

After a strong focus on research and development, the business had now grown to a size that provided a sustainable economic basis, prompting the company to shift its focus towards industrial manufacturing. This transition led to the installation of the first casting machine in 1960, a key step in membrane production. Still today, Sartorius membranes are produced with the help of casting machines.

A Testament to Women's Contributions in Science

And how did Adelaide continue? Unfortunately, details about her life beyond the 1950s are scarce. In 1960, she regularly traveled to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in Russia to visit her grandchildren. She passed away there in 1989 aged 98, with her ashes laid to rest in Göttingen.

Adelaide Beling's life exemplifies the vital yet often overlooked role women have played in advancing science and technology. Both then and now, women at Sartorius have been pivotal for simplifying progress in the life sciences.

Did you know?

The majority of the MFG workforce, which was still small at the time, were women –10 out of 14 employees. Although most of them worked in jobs that were stereotypically associated with women such as commercial clerk and laboratory technician, Dr. Adelaide Beling as scientific director for bacteriology and Gertrud Keese as operations manager and procurator held executive positions – rather untypical for the time.

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