FLEXIBILITY IN CONTINUOUS BEVERAGE BLENDING
The way of many breweries to set new accents in their product range with innovative mixed drinks is also the inspiration for the sparkling wine and beverage industry. Once the product has hit the nerve of the consumer, production must be able to adapt flexibly to operating capacities, the weather or the success of the German national soccer team. This flexibility is required for mixed drinks containing both beer and wine, whether they contain alcohol or are non-alcoholic. Together, Endress+Hauser and corosys Prozesssysteme & Sensoren GmbH were able to show Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien GmbH the solution in this way.
With a total sales volume of 253 million bottles of sparkling wine, spirits, wine and sparkling wine-based beverages in 2015, Rotkäppchen-Mumm Sektkellereien has established itself as the clear market leader in the German sparkling wine market. The sparkling wine-based beverages in particular have been extremely successful in expanding the product range. Last year more than 21 million bottles were sold. With an increase of more than 40 percent, the manufacturer wanted to actively shape its production strategy and adapt it to future requirements. In 2015, technical investments totaling 8.8 million euros were made at the Eltville am Rhein site alone. Part of this went into new equipment for mixed wine drinks.
Endress+Hauser has already been able to successfully demonstrate its industry know-how at this location in measurement technology and solution projects in the field of dealcoholisation, alcohol loading and waste water neutralisation. In order to guarantee investment security for the wine mixed drinks project, the process automation specialist brought together those responsible at Rotkäppchen-Mumm and corosys as a specialist for continuous mixing systems. The in-house production in these new volume standards was new territory for the Eltviller sparkling wine producer. Therefore they visited a customer from the brewing industry, where such a project for beer mix drinks was realized. This solution was the inspiration for the Rotkäppchen-Mumm project.
Continuous mixing of mixed beer beverages
A similar project was implemented in a German brewery in 2014. This brewery had previously produced its beer mix drinks in two different production areas. Mixed drinks like Radler were produced on an older mixing plant, but the high-volume products could only be prepared in tanks in batches. This process was not only time-consuming, but also involved corresponding water and energy costs for tank cleaning. As a result, at times ten to twelve tanks were occupied simultaneously for the production of the mixed drinks. Since the production quantity was planned in advance, there was no possibility to adapt to a sometimes rapidly changing demand after the start of production.
Therefore they were looking for a new solution. The solutions available on the market for the soft drink industry did not offer the required flexibility and did not have the desired process engineering possibilities. As a beer producer, you need flexible solutions that can handle blending, for example. In this brewery, corosys gained the confidence for the implementation of the continuous mixing plant through other projects. This now produces all blended beverages ready to fill. Tanks only serve as buffers in the filling process on bottle, can, keg or in tank trucks.
This meets the requirements of the management in particular, with short set-up times of less than one hour for fast batch changes or flexible adaptation of production quantities to sales requirements. The blending system also proves its practical suitability for producing a consistent end product quality despite fluctuating raw material qualities, which the product beer can bring with it. The customer relied on Endress + Hauser for the measurement technology, and has had good experience with this. The Proline Promass F100 mass flowmeters have proven their worth particularly in the area of dosing technology, both for liquid components and CO2.
Continuous blending of wine-based mixed drinks
The brewery’s reference blending system convinced Rotkäppchen-Mumm at first glance. The challenge for corosys and Endress+Hauser was now the customer-specific adaptation of the volumes to be dosed. For wine-based mixed drinks, these volumes are very different from beer-based mixed drinks. The success in precise dosing lies in the perfectly coordinated interaction of measuring technology, dosing pumps and valves. This already pays off in product loss-free start and stop processes. It also guarantees a constantly high quality level in the bouquet blending of the basic wines. The system converts the quality-relevant parameters calculated before the start of production to the decimal point.
The Eltviller Sektkellerei decided to install two blending lines for production reasons in order to remain the market leader and be prepared for future growth. One plant is used for the production of sparkling beverages from dealcoholised wine and a second one for sparkling wine-based beverages such as Rotkäppchen Fruchtsecco. For both plants a CIP system was supplied.
Since Endress+Hauser measuring technology is used in all cellar technical plants, which however come from different manufacturers, the variety of equipment could be kept within a manageable range by a well thought-out standardization concept in advance.
The corosys mixing plant at Rotkäppchen-Mumm-Sektkellereien GmbH
Technical description of the continuous mixing plant
Mixed beer drinks usually contain 40 to 60 percent lemonade. In the plant, continuously degassed water is mixed with sugar syrup or sugar substitutes, fruit concentrates and citric acid. In the last step, top-fermented, bottom-fermented or alcohol-free beer is added.
Figure 1: Process diagram of the mixing plant in the Belgian brewery Alken-Maes
Figure 1 shows an alternative process scheme of the Belgian brewery Alken-Maes, in which sugar, aromas, caramel and hop extract are dosed. The beverages mixed in this way are carbonated inline in a final step. In the outlet of the plant, alcohol, original wort, CO2, oxygen and color are continuously and highly accurately measured, controlled and monitored. The finished beverage is pumped into a pressure tank, which also serves as a buffer for large batches, where it is ready for filling. The recipe stored in the control system ensures fully automatic, highly accurate and reliable mixing. In addition to the above-mentioned parameters of the finished beverage, the densities of the individual components are also precisely determined with the Proline Promass 100, transferred to the control system via Profibus DP and monitored. This guarantees a constant product quality and excludes errors in operation or dosage. In order to follow the trend in plant engineering towards more compact skids, the flowmeters have been designed accordingly compact.
The heart of the precise interaction with dosing pumps and valves: the compact Proline 100 flowmeter line with various connection options
The continuous blending of alcoholic and non-alcoholic mixed wine drinks is very similar in terms of process technology, although the ingredients differ from those of beer mixed drinks. Liqueurs and very special concentrates are used here. In the case of the mixing of non-alcoholic mixed wine drinks, aroma from the dealcoholisation process is added in very small quantities.
corosys offers solutions for handling, storage and dosing of the above-mentioned mixed drinks and their raw materials. This includes components in solid and liquid form such as yeast, roasted malt beer, hop extract, crystal sugar, alcohol, aroma in all possible containers from canisters to tankers. In all steps of production, i.e. from unloading to storage and blending, microbiological safety must be guaranteed, the acceptable temperature range must be maintained by cooling or heating, sedimentation must be avoided and oxygen must be kept away.
Summary
All three mentioned customers of corosys and Endress+Hauser appreciate the high reliability in planning, execution and operation of their continuous mixing plants. In service and support for application-related questions, they benefit from our extensive industry know-how.The trustful customer relationship of all companies involved enabled the realization of three exemplary projects, which secure a strong position for these mixed beverage producers in a highly competitive market.
Tim Schrodt
Branch Manager Food, Endress+Hauser Messtechnik GmbH + Co. KG, Weil am Rhein
Brauindustrie 11/2016
