3A Sanitary Flow Meters have been widely used in multiple industries, meeting the market demand for efficient and sanitary flow measurement solutions.The flow measurement of materials and products in the beer industry production process is valued by many companies, especially the liquid flow measurement instruments used are different from those of general companies and have their own special requirements. For example, it is necessary to avoid bacterial growth, facilitate frequent cleaning, and withstand high temperature conditions. The specific requirements for disinfection of corrosive alkaline water and hydrogen peroxide are as follows:
- The sensor measurement circuit is simple and has no flow-blocking parts or parts where the medium is easily retained;
- All materials of parts in contact with media meet the requirements of food hygiene, such as the requirements of FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) and EHEDG (European Hygienic Equipment Design Group);
- Parts in contact with the medium can withstand the temperature shock and corrosion caused by steam, alkaline water and hydrogen peroxide cleaning;
- When used in filling process, it should have fast response performance and high measurement accuracy;
- It can adapt to low temperature (about 2℃) and humid working environment. Among many liquid flow meter products, 3A Sanitary Flow Meters can meet the above requirements.
Use of 3A Sanitary Flow Meters in Beer Production Process
Raw material preparation: The main measurement parameters in the raw material preparation process of beer production are weight and level. There are no important flow measurement points, so they are not discussed here.
Wort production: Wort is an important intermediate raw material in beer production, and its measurement is extremely important for the handover and settlement between the previous and subsequent processes (workshops).In particular, the measurement results calculated separately by the front and rear process workshops are related to the completion of their respective production and economic indicators. Therefore, this measurement point is very important and sensitive, and accuracy is its primary indicator.Wort has a certain viscosity but there is no difficulty in measuring 3A Sanitary Flow Meters. What needs to be considered is the disinfection in the process. The flowmeter used at this measuring point can consider using an electromagnetic flowmeter with a PFA lining (or PTFE) and stainless steel electrodes. It can prevent corrosion from dilute hydrogen peroxide and alkaline water. The diameter is usually between 50 and 100 mm. The diameter of the flowmeter can be determined based on the flow rate and the matching process pipeline.
Fermentation: After fermentation and filtration, the sake will be transported to the next process – packaging through pipelines. It also involves the measurement and handover between the two departments. It is also extremely important to accurately measure the sake, otherwise it will cause unnecessary disputes. The requirements for flow meters are similar to those for wort measurement.
High-concentration dilution: Due to different production processes, some beers are produced by blending high-concentration original wine. This requires strictly controlling the ratio of high-concentration original wine and sterile carbonated water to ensure the beer degree after mixing.In each production line, two electromagnetic flowmeters are required for proportioning flow control. Generally, the flowmeter for measuring wine is selected with a diameter of 50-100mm, and the flowmeter for measuring water is selected with a diameter of 20-50mm, depending on the production scale. To ensure that the instrument has a high measurement accuracy, it should be ensured that.
The fluid flow rate is above 1m/s, which makes the flow measurement within the best working range of the instrument. At the same time, the time constant of the flow meter should also be set smaller, generally between 1 and 3s, to improve the sensitivity of the control and ensure the accuracy of the ratio.
Filling: Filling is the last step in beer production, which requires accurate control (±10mL) of the filling volume of each bottle (can, barrel).The 3A Sanitary Flow Meters has high accuracy and fast response performance and can quickly and accurately control the filling volume of each bottle of beer.Usually, this type of electromagnetic flowmeter has a smaller diameter, generally between DN2.5 and DN40, with a compact size and a response speed of 0.3s.
Some application considerations
Impact and treatment of operating process
Due to product hygiene requirements, the food industry needs to regularly disinfect process pipelines (including flow meters) with disinfecting media. The media used include hot water (above 85°C), steam, alkaline water (above 50°C) and hydrogen peroxide.In this regard, we need to pay attention to the above-mentioned disinfection process with a relatively high temperature medium. This is dangerous for 3A Sanitary Flow Meters with linings. If the operation is not careful, the instrument may be easily damaged.
From the perspective of corrosion resistance, temperature resistance and hygiene, 3A Sanitary Flow Meters uses PFA as the lining material, which is accepted by the majority of users in the food industry and can meet many demanding operating requirements.
Effect and treatment of bubbles in the medium
The measured liquid often contains some bubbles due to the process or the medium itself. For example, a brewery used 3A Sanitary Flow Meters to measure wort. The electromagnetic flow meter was installed after the wort cooler and put into use. The measured wort value was too large, while the final beer output was too small, which led to a measurement dispute in the handover of the front and back sections of the production process.After on-site investigation, it was found that there was a gas injection port in front of the location where the flow meter for measuring wort was installed. Its purpose was to increase the oxygen content required for fermentation. At this time, the fluid passing through the flow meter was a mixture of wort and gas. It was obvious that the measurement result was biased larger. The displayed instantaneous flow value was extremely unstable and fluctuated very quickly. It was impossible to see the instantaneous flow value on the flow meter display. Because the user was only interested in the final cumulative total, he did not notice the abnormal fluctuation of the instantaneous flow.After the gas injection port was moved to the downstream of the electromagnetic flowmeter, the measurement returned to normal, the handover disputes were eliminated, and the ratio of beer production to wort consumption met the process indicators.
Prevent insulation degradation caused by condensation
During the beer production process, the medium is at a relatively low temperature most of the time. For example, when beer is being filled, its temperature is often lower than room temperature, at around 2°C. At this time, condensation water is easily generated at the part of the process pipeline that comes into contact with the air.In addition, due to specific production requirements, many production workshops are always in extremely humid environments.
At this time, the correct method should be to choose 3A Sanitary Flow Meters with clamp connection, split type, and IP67 or IP68 protection level. Since the sensor of this protection level is completely sealed, no matter how harsh the environment is, there will be no worries about condensation water in the electromagnetic flow meter.
The only sanitary electromagnetic flowmeter manufacturer in China that has passed 3A certification.
ARTang 3A Sanitary Flow Meters: Food-grade stainless steel and non-toxic lining materials to ensure zero contamination of the fluid, ± 0.2% high accuracy measurement without pressure loss, corrosion-resistant design to support CIP / SIP cleaning, suitable for milk, medicinal fluids and other conductive liquids to monitor the flow of meet the FDA / EHEDG certification for the food and beverage, beer, milk, pharmaceutical industries Provide accurate, safe and stable flow control solutions for food, beverage, beer, milk and pharmaceutical industries.
