Bottle washing machines are widely used in the brewery and beverage industry for efficient washing
and sanitising of bottles before they are transferred to the filling machine to be filled with the
product. The bottle rinse removes dust, debris and other contaminants such as residue from the
creation of the container, simple dust from storage, and debris from transportation or any other
source. The temperature of hot water required for washing new bottles is 72 deg. C, and for old
bottles it is 84 deg.C.
In a beverage plant, the bottle washer needs to be operated continuously. It is started at the cold
start-up of the plant itself to reduce peak steam demand. The rest of the equipment, like the
pasteurizer and sugar syrup preparation unit, is started once the bottle washer reaches the desired
temperature. Hence, start-up time of the bottle washer is critical in improving the overall
productivity of the plant.
Optimum Steam and Condensate Network
The design of the steam and condensate network plays an important role in ensuring that the set
temperature is achieved in the desired time without any temperature overshoot and without any
manual intervention. In case of any deviation from the set parameters, the steam flow regulation
and condensate evacuation system needs to be reviewed.
A well designed steam and condensate system ensures that the actual steam consumption is at the
rated theoretical consumption.
Parameters to be Controlled
Steam Pressure : For the bottle washer, a low steam pressure is recommended. Maintaining steam
pressure at 2 bar g can reduce steam consumption by 2%.
Process Temperature : A PID based temperature control system is recommended. It modulates the
steam flow for achieving the required process temperature in the soaks of the bottle washer.
Condensate : For complete condensate evacuation, and to handle stall conditions inside the heat
exchanger, a steam operated pump trap is recommended. Each soak tank needs to be fitted with an
individual steam operated pump trap. Steam operated condensate return pumps are recommended
to ensure that the condensate recovered from the steam operated pump traps is at maximum
temperature.
Benefits of condensate evacuation with a steam operated pump trap
The right type and size of process trap ensures optimum energy consumption, process efficiency,
productivity, product quality and safety. Positive differential pressure across the trap is essential for
efficient condensate evacuation from process equipment. Conventional traps are not equipped with
this feature and hence are unable to completely discharge the condensate from the equipment,
resulting in stall conditions. In the event of stall, the system is unable to achieve the desired process
temperatures.
A steam operated pumping trap ensures complete condensate removal during stall conditions, so
desired process temperature are achieved without manual intervention.
An optimally designed system, equipped with a steam operated pump trap to deal with stall
conditions, yields steam savings of 8-10% as compared to a conventional system with on-off valves
and float traps.
Visit this page to understand why stall occurs, its adverse effects and how it can be eliminated.
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