Process technology:

Refrigeration and CO2 recovery.

GEA Brewery Systems

Huppmann Tuchenhagen
 Intelligent refrigeration technology ...
Refrigeration plants are of central importance in
a brewery. With about 40 %, refrigeration is one
of the largest current consumers and refrigeration
directly influences beer quality.
To realize functional and economical solutions,
expertise from both worlds, refrigeration
technology and the brewing process, is essential.
GEA Brewery Systems has decades of experience
in refrigeration plant construction. However, our
refrigeration experts also have the necessary
brewing know-how. We plan and construct
refrigeration plants for any application in
the brewing and malting industry, always with
regard to the quality of the beer and optimum
energy consumption. The final product is decisive;
refrigeration is an essential tool. With tailor-
made, intelligent refrigeration management we
ensure an optimum refrigeration cycle: the right
refrigerating capacity at the right time in the right
place. High economic efficiency is accompanied
by maximum operational reliability and a long
service life.

Heating
(heat recovery)
Pressure

Liquid Wet steam Overheated steam

Boiling line Saturated

steam line

Refrigerating Enthalpy
capacity without
subcooling

Refrigerating capacity
Flash gas with subcooling

FACTS & FIGURES

Experience in brewery refrigeration Specific driving power of the brewery refrigeration plant

For over 80 years GEA Brewery Systems has been active in the
refrigeration sector world-wide. We have built complete units
Specific capacity kWhel / kWrefrigeration

with a refrigera­ting capacity ranging from 100 to 10,000  kW

and can provide excellent references for the modernization and
optimization of existing plants. Thanks to our global experience
and certifications, we can plan and build according to country-
specific conditions – such as technical standards or statutory
guidelines.

Condensing temperature °C
= optimum operating point

2
 ... adapted to the brewing process.
Extremely efficient:
multi-temperature circuit.
Anyone who wants to use refrigeration technology
as efficiently as possible will opt for a multi-
temperature circuit. The system is divided into
circuits with different temperature levels, which are
optimally adjusted to the respective consumption
of the different refrigeration appliances in the
brewing process. Ammonia is recommended as a
cooling medium for the cooling of the fermenting
and storage tanks; yeast plants and product coolers
are cooled with glycol, precooled brewing water is
mostly recommended for wort cooling. Thanks to
this division, the temperature of the refrigerant for
each appliance is provided at the highest possible
level. This saves energy, because for each degree
Celsius that the evaporation tem­perature of the
refrigerant is higher, the driving power is reduced
by up to 3 %.
Intelligent control system for optimized
processes.
GEA Brewery Systems ensures optimized processes
in the refrigeration plant with intelligent control
concepts. The control systems we developed record
all important operating parameters and calculate the
optimum operating point for the plant. All power
consuming devices are optimally supplied and the
equipment is adjusted to optimized maximum
consumption. The advantage: the electrical
power consumption for generating the necessary
refrigerating capacity is distinctly reduced.

Potential for optimization

There are various optimization
options in the refrigeration
cycle. Our refrigeration
engineers prove again and Compressor 1 Compressor 2 Compressor 3 Condenser
again that they are able to
identify and utilize these
potentials in a brewery
refrigeration plant.

Separator 1 Separator 2 Separator 3

Fermenting

Plate heat Plate heat exchanger

tanks
FACTS & FIGURES
exchan-
ger 1
Optimum operating
conditions
GEA Brewery Systems
refrigeration plants achieve Plate heat
exchan- Glycol
optimum operating conditions ger 2 buffer tank
through the use of adequate
Brewing water precooling, Glycol primary circuit Fermenting tank cooling with
control technology. air conditioning ammonia direct expansion

NH3 suction side Glycol

NH3 gas pressure side NH3 liquid

3
 The right fermentation
temperature for every beer.
Every beer type has its own cooling profile. We
can optimally influence the temperature and thus
convection in the tank through targeted design
and control of the cooling zones. Not only the
individ-ual cooling zones but also the required
refrigerant temperature are controlled depending
on the beer type. To avoid the formation of ice,
the temperature of the inner tank wall is taken
into account during refrigeration of the tank
content dependent on the beer type. Therefore
a separate recipe for each beer type is created in
the process control. Temperature stratification
is reliably prevented by individual cooling
of the tank zones. The entire tank content is
fermented uniformly and reaches the required
stor­age temperature faster. It is possible to operate
every fermenting tank variably within a system.

FACTS & FIGURES

Control module “Tank Cooling”
The module for the fermenting room optimally controls the fermentation New cooling course

process. The clearly structured operator environment gives an overview

of all functionalities and ensures optimum operability.
Temperature (°C)

New course evaporation Conventional

temperature cooling course

Adapted refrigeration: Beneficial not only with regard to quality

Usually the tank content is cooled during fermentation at a constant
cooling medium temperature. With ”gentle tank cooling“ developed
by GEA Brewery Systems, the evaporation temperature is con­trolled
according to the beer type in the tank. This avoids yeast stress and
formation of ice in the tank. In addition, it provides maximum product Conventional evaporation
temperature
flexibility in the fermenting room – from high gravity to non-alcoholic
beer. Time (h)

4
Excellent experience with
ammonia direct expansion.
GEA Brewery Systems was one of the first
manufacturers of refrigeration plants to rely on the
use of ammonia for direct cooling of fermenting
tanks. Compared to indirect cooling by means of a
cooling medium, this type of direct expansion has
decisive advantages: The rate of heat transfer with
ammonia is approxi­mately 90 times higher than
the rate with conven­tional cooling media (glycol
water) and can be well controlled in a broad
performance range. The energy savings compared
to indirect cooling with glycol are normally
over 14 %. Combined with central refriger­­ation
plants, this process is unbeatable with respect to
operational reliability, efficiency and profitability.

Cooling with NH3

Tank cooling system
with NH3 direct
expansion
Direct expansion with
variable temperatures
of the refrigerant offers
very flexible control
options.

Controller

FACTS & FIGURES

Cooling with glycol
Tank cooling system
with glycol water
Constant flow tempera­
tures prevail during
cooling with cooling
media. Temperature
control is effected by
simply switching the
individual cooling zones
on or off.

5
 Efficient CO2 recovery ...
Today CO2 recovery units are common in
modern breweries. They help to reduce costs and
are an important part of quality control.
As a manufacturer of CO2 recovery and brewery
equipment, we know how important pure CO2 is
for the quality of the beer. Minimum residual
oxygen contents in the employed carbon dioxide
suffice to impair the flavour stability of your beer.
In contrast to other sources, the quality can be
best assured in your own fermentation carbon
dioxide. By using the stripper technology we
can recover fermentation CO2 already in early
fermentation stages.
CO2 recovery unit with stripper system
The combination of recovery and processing with a stripper system
guarantees maximum purity (99.998 %) and minimum O2 amounts
of less than 5 ppm.
FACTS & FIGURES
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Our customers profit from our networked thinking
also in CO2 recovery: GEA Brewery Systems
inte­grates CO2 recovery perfectly and seamlessly
in the planned or existing refrigerating systems.
This results in optimized efficiency and savings
in plant investments with regard to both CO2 and
refrigeration. The advantages of a GEA Brewery
Systems CO2 recovery system are convincing:
maximum purity, maximum operational reliability
and low operating costs.
Heat recovery
Heat from the return line of the glycol circuit is used for CO2
evaporation, thus making for savings during the required recooling
in the refrigeration plant.
...one cost factor less.
Use waste heat, save energy.
GEA Brewery Systems pays special attention
to heat recov­­ery. In most breweries, liquid CO2
(approx. -25 °C) from the storage is evaporated
again for operation by means of ambient air,
warm water from a heat reservoir or by steam.
Thermal energy is lost in the process.
With the aid of heat recovery modules, heat
energy from the refrigeration plant is used
for CO2 evaporation, which reduces energy
consumption in the refrigeration plant.

CO2 liquid

CO2 gas

Glycol

Glycol

Glycol pump

FACTS & FIGURES

CO2 recovery on any scale:
Since 1987 GEA Brewery Systems has built a large number of CO2
units, ranging in size from 30 to 2,500 kg/h. Every unit is exactly
tailored to the respective brew size, brewing sequence and
original wort content. Therefore investments pay off very quickly.
Stand-alone block units are constructed in a capacity range of 50
to 500 kg/h. In capacity ranges over 500 kg/h we adapt the units
individually to the operative range.

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Refrigeration technology
and CO2 recovery.
To realize functional and economical refrigeration and CO2 recovery
plants, expertise from both worlds, refrigeration technology and the
brewing process, is essential. For over 80 years GEA Brewery Systems
has been active in the refrigeration sector world-wide. We have
built complete units with a refrigerating capacity ranging from 100 to
10,000 kW and can provide excellent references for the modernization
and optimization of existing plants.

Refrigeration.E.07.09 / © GEA Brewery Systems GmbH. / All rights reserved. Subject to modifications. Printed in Germany.

Process Engineering
GEA Brewery Systems GmbH
Huppmann Tuchenhagen

Locations:
Heinrich-Huppmann-Str. 1, 97318 Kitzingen, Germany
Phone +49 9321 303-0, Fax +49 9321 303-603
Am Industriepark 2–10, 21514 Büchen, Germany
Phone +49 4155 49-0, Fax +49 4155 49-2770
info@gea-brewery.com, www.gea-brewery.com