1A Goodsons Mews, Wellington Street, Thame, OX9 3BX
1A Goodsons Mews, Wellington Street, Thame, OX9 3BX
Brewery Industry
Fermentation tanks are very hard to clean, and ensuring no residues remain after each cleaning is vital to prevent cross-contamination from yeast strains affecting the quality of future beer batches.
Every year, the brewery produces new seasonal guest ales alongside its permanent portfolio. One guest ale proved challenging for the existing rotary spray head tank cleaning devices, two of which were installed in each of the 30 closed fermentation tanks.
The brewery’s chief engineer turned to an authorised Alfa Laval channel partner to ensure the fermenters would be 100% clean the first time – every time.
Due to their longstanding business relationship, the brewery also asked the Alfa Laval channel partner to improve the entire cleaning cycle, including optimising the pre rinse cycle to prevent yeast contamination in the recirculated caustic. This would reduce downtime and contamination risks in the CIP system’s caustic tank.
Optimise The Cycle
& Preventing Contamination
100% Clean
The First Time
Upgrading 30 closed fermentation tanks to a higher cleaning level can be expensive. New tank cleaning machines, high labour and installation costs and potential conversion of the fermentation tanks may be required, and installing new equipment can also result in lost production time.
The solution? Retrofitting the vessels.
We used TRAX software to simulate cleaning in the fermentation tanks, and based on the results, the Alfa Laval Gamajet Powerflex Flow-Through (GJ PF FT) tank cleaning machines were the obvious pick.
Compared to rotary spray head tank cleaning devices, Alfa Laval GJ PF FT rotary jet heads reduce both cleaning time and energy, water and cleaning agent use. They combine pressure and flow to create high-impact cleaning jets that continuously rotate in a 360°, full coverage, global indexing pattern that ensures the entire tank interior is cleaned, every time.
The enhanced impingement action easily cleans the toughest residues during trials at the brewery, and cleaning was validated both visually and by measuring pH values. This means the brewery spends less time maintaining equipment and cleaning tanks – and more time producing beer.
This choice of device also made retrofitting simple. The GJ PF FT fits through most existing openings, including the tanks’ 100 mm openings. No modification of the existing top-entry nozzle openings was required, which eliminated the need to rework the tank, and enabled a quick, cost-effective upgrade within a few weeks.
To optimise the tank cleaning equipment, we worked closely with Alfa Laval experts. High-impact, low-profile quad-nozzle rotary jet heads were configured to the current operating conditions with a total CIP flow rate of 12 m3 /h per fermentation tank. The brewery chose to maintain the existing pressure during the replacement process, and although satisfactory cleaning results were achieved with 3 bar, they subsequently upgraded to 5 bar as recommended in the specifications.
Before
After
With the tanks so clean, the brewery is confident no impurities are left in the tanks when starting a new fermentation batch. This is promising for the brewery’s future.
“We’ve never seen the fermenters this clean before,” says the chief engineer at the brewery.