Microbrewery Project
This project involved building and commissioning of a new purpose-built microbrewery with a 35hl brewhouse. This was designed to brew a range of craft beers, to contain a 120kW cooling system, using a glycol/water mix, with a target temp of -4°C and to generate 1,060 kg/h of steam. This project was split into phases.
The Phases
Phase 1:
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The brewhouse was ordered by the manufacturing company themselves. FDT provided initial feasibility calculations and helped in original planning.
Phase 2:
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Tender document generation for potential mechanical and electrical contractors.
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Assistance with utility supply to site.
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Meet with provisionally chosen contractor to discuss technical details.
The Solution
The capacity of the site was modelled and pinch points acting as barriers to increasing production were identified. For example,
1. Excessive residence time in vessel causing an effective decrease in site storage capacity.
The technical applications of the work for this project involved the preparation of tender documents for the mechanical and electrical installation.
Mechanical installation:
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Supply of all pipework, excluding piping from a supplier.
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Supply of Refrigeration Plant (120 kW Cooling).
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Supply of air compressor (20 m3/h to supply oil-free dry air @ 7 barg).
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Support for positioning of plant.
Electrical installation:
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Supply and deliver cabling & electrical infrastructure
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Connection to power supply where required
3. High levels of water hardness causing fouling and thus reduced heat transfer (resulting in delays and increased energy usage) over several process steps.
An action plan to improve site efficiency and to increase capacity was developed on this basis. In some cases, no capital outlay was required but optimisation of operating parameters.
In addition to this efficiency review and phased capacity increase plan, FDT developed site layouts for the new brewhouse and utilities and developed a plan for the installation and commissioning of a new brewhouse.
