Brewery Setup Blog

Wort Cooling - Plate Heat Exchanger

After the wort is boiled and poured into the whirling sedimentation tank, after the hop grains and thermal coagulation are separated, the following treatment should be carried out quickly:

(1) Cool down rapidly so that the temperature of the wort meets the requirements for yeast inoculation.

(2) Ventilate the wort after cooling, and the yeast can synthesize sterols and unsaturated fatty acids necessary for its reproduction only after absorbing sufficient oxygen.

(3) Precipitate and separate the hot and cold solids in the wort to ensure the normal progress of fermentation and the expected beer quality.

Wort cooling is a physical change process, which is not complicated in theory. However, due to heat, precipitation and separation of condensate, reasonable wort oxygenation and strict hygiene requirements, the cooling process in actual production is quite complicated.

Since yeast can only ferment at low temperatures, the hot wort must be cooled to the fermentation temperature required by the process before inoculation. Using a plate heat exchanger can quickly cool the wort to the inoculation temperature of the yeast, and long-term slow cooling will increase the chance of harmful microorganisms in the beer multiplying. Therefore, rapid cooling is very important. After the start of wort cooling, thermal coagulation will continue to precipitate during the period before 60 °C.

Plate heat exchanger:

The most commonly used wort cooler in breweries is plate heat exchanger, which has high heat exchange efficiency and has been widely used in actual production. The basic requirements for cooling equipment for wort cooling are:

(1) The parts where wort and cooling water flow through should be easy to clean.

(2) The seal is better to prevent the leakage of cooling water and wort.

(3) There must be sufficient cooling area, the cooling time should be short, and the amount of condensed solids should be precipitated.

1. Structure

The plate heat exchanger is a new type of closed cooling equipment, made of stainless steel plate, composed of many pieces of two

It consists of corrugated boards with grooved surfaces, and a group of two is the basic unit. Wort and cooling water alternately flow through these corrugated boards. In the middle of the corrugated plate, rubber rings are used as fillers to stick tightly to prevent leakage. The corrugated plates are suspended on the supporting shaft and pressed against each other, and the wort flows in and out through the connecting plates.

2. Working principle

Through the plate heat exchanger, the temperature of the wort can be reduced from 95°C to 98°C to 6°C to 8°C. The medium is cooled tap water or other refrigerants. The specific working method is: the wort and the coolant are pumped to move in the form of turbulent flow, and follow the grooves on both sides of the grooved plate to flow in reverse to exchange heat. The pairs of cooling plates can be connected in parallel, in series or in combination. Therefore, the flow rate and heat exchange mode through the plate heat exchanger are changed. There are channel holes on the corners of each plate, which constitute the distribution channels of wort and coolant, from which wort and coolant can be introduced into each plate pair, and then exported after heat exchange. A unit composed of several plates that flow in the same direction is called a plate segment. The direction of flow from one plate segment to the next can be changed by means of a counter plate.

3. Heat exchange effect

In order to achieve a good heat exchange effect, the plate heat exchanger has the following requirements:

①The metal sheet should be thin.

② Use corrugated plates that can form turbulent flow, which is the basic unit of cooling.

③ The board spacing should be small.

④The wort and refrigerant flow in reverse.

⑤ Can change flow direction

4. Advantages

The plate heat exchanger has high heat exchange efficiency, small footprint, and is convenient for sanitation management, which is incomparable to other types of coolers.

(1) High heat transfer coefficient.

(2) High flexibility.

(3) Compact structure, small footprint.

(4) Low product entrainment.

(5) Glue-free gasket.

(6) Additional safety design.

If you are planning to open a brewery. TIANTAI BrewTech could help you answer your questions and supply the brewery equipment system. We supply 2-150bbl complete beer brewing brewery equipment system including malt milling equipment, brewhouse equipment, fermenters, brite beer tanks, beer bottling machine,beer canning machine, beer kegging machine, hopping machine, yeast propagation equipment. We also supply all auxiliary brewery systems like steam heating pipe and valves, water treatment, filter, air compressor etc. Everything in brewery are all in our list.

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