How much water is used for beer brewing and how to save water?

As we all know, the manufacturing water of beer equipment includes cleaning water, brewing water and cooling water. Internationally, the water intake per batch of beer is well below 8 tons. In China, water withdrawals range from 15 to 40 tons per batch of beer. why is it like this? We will introduce water factors in the manufacture of beer equipment and ways to save water.

According to the evaluation, the large water intake in domestic beer production may be due to the following three factors:

 (1) The production equipment is relatively backward, and the washing containers, equipment, and pipelines are washed in a simple way, with poor washing effect and high water consumption. In terms of reinforcement, the equipment form and the pipe form are not entirely practical and require a considerable amount of drain or pipe water, which greatly increases the amount of released water. 

(2) There are many manufacturing facilities using standard methods for manufacturing procedures, and the standard methods have many process links. The capacity of the equipment is small, there are many types of transportation or long distances, the parts that need to be cleaned in the whole process and the amount of cleaning water required for each beer production are relatively large. 

(3) Not paying attention to water saving and recycling, which is a typical problem of some small breweries.

How to reduce the manufacturing water intake of beer equipment can take these two elements into consideration.

1. Recycling

Recycling is mainly used for cooling water and cleaning water. Cooling and cleaning water accounts for about 80% of the total water intake for each batch of beer produced. This component of water is required in manufacturing procedures since every procedure requires a procedure. Just about everyone needs a cleanse or a cool down. The recyclable part of this water is quite large, including: (1) Use the prepared water as the front cooling water of the thin plate cooler, connect the cooling water outlet to the hot water tank, so that it can be cooled on the one hand, and the wort on the other hand The heated brewing water is converted into hot water through heat exchange. It can be used as feed water for saccharification, greatly saving the heat energy required for cooling and heating water. (2) Set up a large-capacity pool in the cooling system to collect cooling water for recycling. The cooling water of the ammonia compressor and the air compressor can also be collected and recycled in the same way, which can greatly reduce the consumption of cooling water. (3) Collect all rinse water directly into the container washer. The BOD and COD of this part of the water are greatly reduced, and the pH value is slightly alkaline (pH 77.8, can be used as water for soaking wheat, and can also be used for cleaning floors. Cleaning open gutters and sewage systems). (4) The washing water and the hop washing water are all recovered as the feed water for the next saccharification. (5) Using CIP cleaning equipment, the final cleaning water can be recycled as the initial cleaning water. (6) Recovery of condensed water in the steam heating device. It can be mixed with process water as saccharification or wash water to reduce water usage.

2. Cost saving

There are many ways to save water. In particular, utilizing standard innovations to automate beer manufacturing facilities. Most of them rely on hands-on procedures and generally use more water. Water conservation mainly depends on the correct procedure method and. There may be: (1) Using greater drainage stress and shorter drainage time can reduce drainage. When cleaning pipes and containers, reduce water circulation and waste space. (2) Strictly manage the total amount of saccharification water used, reasonably arrange the cleaning times and water volume for each cleaning, and try to avoid more cleaning water from entering the steamer (due to time constraints) or directly into the sewer without repeated use. The water in the saccharification product should be sufficient, and the mash should not be too thin, so as not to increase the loss of the steamer. (3) Adjust the faucet outlet time of each beer distribution pipeline and filter to achieve the function of tap water and save water at the same time. (4) When discharging slag, release clot debris, yeast and various odorous waste residues, please use the device to discharge slag first, do not use clean methods to discharge slag, and limit the use of low-granularity water. After the deslagging is completed, it can be washed with much less water first, and then washed again to save washing water.