The Common Issues During Using Of Fermenters


Conical fermenters already widely used, but due to bigger fermenters design and manufacture, process piping arrangement, instrument using, other equipment and accessory improvement etc may exist some issues, which may result in occur unusual sign in the process of producing. It includes:

1.Leakage on bigger capacity tanks
Leakage is common sign on fermenter tank, mainly happen at tanks top. The over-pressure valve and vacuum valve installed on the top, which have certain pipe fittings. If the seal is not well or valves seal is not well during feeding, fermenting, filtering process, both can result in tanks leakage. After leakage, tanks pressure can not keep and CO2 amount become lower. The way to solve is regular inspecting, cleaning over-pressure valve and vacuum valve, replace seals in time.

2.Beer freezing
It mainly have two aspects factors: One is glycol medium temperature over low, another one is unreasonable design of glycol jacket, and the sign normally happens when outside temperature is lower. To avoid the beer freezing on tanks shell, glycol temperature is not suitable over lower. According to design standard and process demands, the glycol temperature is OK about 4℃ to -6℃，at most not over -8℃. But some factories glycol temperature reach to -15℃, it is easy to make storaged beer freezing, thus influence beer quality and stability. Besides the glycol inlet also should not design at lower temperature area of tanks, or it also easy to make beer freezing.

3.Gradient distribution
The height of tanks more than 10 meters, convection is not well, and temperature differential between top and bottom liquid, different liquid density, further CO2 amount is higher on bottom( lower on top), so it may exist gradient distribution sign, which brings difficulties for beer quality.

It can be solved by follows:
1)Install CO2 cleaning device on tanks top, promoting beer mixed well during rinsing fermenting liquid.
2)Design two sample port on top and bottom, taking sample and mixing make sample representative.
3)Using glycol jacket on fermentation tanks reasonably.

4.Tanks Contamination
1)Large tanks surface area, for example clean not well result in contamination.
2)More piping connection, cleaning and sterilization need to be noticed.
3)During production process, material or air in and out multi times, if it have bacteria will result in contamination.

5.Instrument error
Due to quality issues or improper operation, it may make instrument not wort well. It mainly showed on temperature, level, pressure, clean effect. The way to solve is adopt good quality instrument and regular maintenance and inspecting.

6.Poorly CIP cleaning
Two reasons: One is not suitable fittings, another one is unreasonable clean agent.

Edite By Abby
Project Manager in Tiantai Company
Email: [email protected]