The USA energy crisis - an opportunity for a fresh start

The authors of this article have been working in the brewery engineering sector for several decades now and are owners of many patents that have delivered energy savings in breweries. As a result of many investigations and consultancy opportunities, it has also been possible to save considerable amounts of primary energy. The following article describes possible options, and the results that could be obtained by their application. It has been written with the primary aim of stimulating the American market, but is also of value to anyone interested in saving energy in breweries.

Europe many people were amazed to learn earlier this year that the USA was in the grip of an energy crisis. It forced us to take a serious look at ways to save energy, both generally and in specific areas..

Dynamic low-pressure boiling - optimised energy and process engineering

The decision of a brewery to use a particular optimum process is dependent on a number of important criteria. These include purchase costs, space requirements, process flexibility, operational and consumption costs, energy usage and environmental protection as well as achievable technological brewing conditions for optimum wort and beer quality. Wort boiling processes which are uncomplicated in use and operate with a high degree of functionality have significant advantages. This paper describes the operational characteristics and selection criteria from an energy point of view.

Classic low-pressure boiling (LPB) where wort is boiled at a constant evaporation pressure of 1.08 bar (tb = 102° C) to 1.21 bar (tb = 105° C) has been used worldwide in breweries as of 1979.g.
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Separating off original extract production using fluidised bed technology

In the brewing industry, use of fluidised bed technology opens up new possibilities for industrial beer production. This paper describes a process, patent pending, which serves to achieve the desired standardisation and quality improvement of original extract by separating off the brewhouse process.

rimary energy consumption and other production costs are also significantly reduced. Use of fluidised bed technology could revolutionise industrial beer production in the 21st century.

Use of fluidised bed technology in the brewing industry - "original extract granulate"

With the "PlatoTec" process presented here, liquid original extract is processed to dry original extract granulate by using fluidised bed technology. The plant is thus extremely flexible.

New test methods for plate heat exchangers

Due to their flexibility in configuration and their capacity to be adapted to changed conditions, their efficiency and low space requirements, coupled with a large exchange surface area, plate heat exchangers have become standard process engineering equipment in practically all industrial sectors. Their use in breweries requires particular attention so as to identify risks associated with leaks in a timely fashion.

Decanter for separation of spent grainsTechnological aspects and results

Continuous separation of spent grains is an important element in developing a continuous brewing process. In the present article, the focus is on technological results, especially in respect of flavour quality in the finished beer.

Sizing criteria for boiler plants of breweries

Production and filling conditions as well as the heat recovery system in the brewhouse must be taken into account in order to arrive at a proper basis for sizing a boiler plant.

Impact of malting barley improvement for the Heilongjiang in China

The Sapporo Breweries Ltd. (Sapporo) joint venture barley breeding project with Hongri Seeds aims to produce high quality malting barley varieties for specific brewing markets in China and for the Heilongjiang’s barley production region in the northeast of China. Hongri 2 is the latest variety released from the Hongri Seeds Japan-China joint venture company.

State-of-the-art in utilisation of vapour condensate

Material utilisation of vapour condensate arising from beer wort boiling has been achieved in commercial-scale operations in a number of breweries in recent years. This paper is a review of the state-of-the-art.

Processing excess yeast in Keraflux-plants

This article describes a Keraflux-membrane system for recovery of beer from excess yeast. Its performance capabilities are documented on the basis of statistically evaluated data.

Heat transfer in Unitanks

In the following article the author summarises his work on heat transfer in Unitanks. The engineering aspects involved in sizing cooling areas for a Unitank are discussed and the different inputs to be specified by the brewer and the designer, essential to arrive at a satisfactory solution, are listed. The implications of varying the inputs on the final result are explained with illustrations in specific cases. Basic heat transfer equations, theories involved and a stepwise procedure to solve the problem are included. Results from a computer based programme developed for this application are tabulated and the utility of such a model for an optimum solution is explained.

Acceptance tests for wort coolersResults, deficiencies, standard values, implications for industry

The pivotal role of plate coolers is oftentimes not appreciated, and the associated operating costs related to driver power requirements for supply of refrigeration and reheating energy requirements underestimated. This finding is based on measurements on 56 plate coolers installed in industrial operations. Basics of wort cooling, possibilities for optimisation and sizing examples are presented in this article.