How To Choose A Grain Conveying System for A Brewery

Malt transportation has been widely used in the craft beer industry. It has reduced the labor intensity of workers to a certain extent, improved work efficiency, and also improved the mechanization of the overall equipment, promoting industrial upgrading. The following briefly introduces the development history of transportation equipment and selection precautions for your reference.

The supporting transportation of craft beer equipment originated from the grain processing industry. From a distance, you can see some large grain storage warehouses. Bucket elevators stand next to them. Scraper belt conveyors for horizontal transportation are respectively provided at the top and bottom of the warehouse, which complete the in and out transportation of grain during operation. The grain transported to the mill is usually transported by wind, and the grain collection truck is equipped with a screw conveyor.

Conveying equipment

The conveying equipment used for craft beer is also the pipe chain conveyor commonly used in the aquaculture industry, but it has been improved to meet the hygiene standards of the food industry, and the processing technology is becoming more and more perfect.

Bucket elevator conveyor

The most common is the bucket elevator, which is installed vertically and was originally made of carbon steel with a plastic bucket on the belt. It can continuously lift the material in the lower hopper to the required height with high conveying efficiency. The disadvantage is that after each use, a large amount of material will remain under the hopper. If it is not cleaned in time, it will mold and deteriorate, which will at least affect the next use, and affect the sanitary environment of brewing and the quality of beer. This problem cannot be solved by simply changing the material to stainless steel.

Screw conveyor

There are two types of screw conveyors: shaft screw conveyors and shaftless screw conveyors. Shaftless screw conveyors are also called flexible screw conveyors. Screw conveyors are usually standard configurations. Screw conveyors are currently widely used in small and medium-sized beer brewing industries. They are cost-effective and have relatively high conveying efficiency.

Advantages:

• The efficiency of shafted screw conveyors is higher than that of shaftless screw conveyors;

• Shaftless conveyors are more flexible and are not limited to straight-line conveying. They can change direction in the middle;

Disadvantages:

• There is also a problem of residual material at the bottom of bucket elevator conveyors;

• The conveying capacity of axial screw conveyors decreases with the increase of elevation angle;

• Due to the high speed of shaftless flexible screw conveyors, there is a problem of high noise, and the material in the barrel may be crushed twice, resulting in excessive crushing;

Wind conveyor

Wind conveyor has always been a standard configuration in the grain processing industry. Relying on the suction force generated by the large fan at the end, the grain is transported to the destination by the wind.

Advantages:

• Can realize long-distance, three-dimensional, and multi-angle transportation

• No residual particles;

• Low noise transportation of materials;

Disadvantages:

• The discharge port is equipped with a cyclone separator, which can only be installed vertically, with a height of about 1 meter, and cannot be used when the site height is limited;

• There is a dust collection bag behind the fan, which will generate a small amount of dust, affecting the hygiene of the crushing site;

• Since wind is used as a carrier for transportation, the dust content of the material cannot reach 100%, and the transportation efficiency will not be too high;

Tube chain conveyors

Tube chain conveyors were once standard equipment in the livestock and poultry industry, but have been improved and are now a high-end equipment in the craft beer industry.

Advantages:

• Can realize long-distance, three-dimensional, multi-angle transportation, and the transportation range can reach any position within 100 meters;

• No retention, no gap, full tube and efficient transportation;

• Low noise when conveying materials;

• Perfect combination with middle row double roller mill;

Disadvantages:

• Relatively high price

Summary

The malt conveying equipment should be combined with your actual situation. The purpose of our use is to improve work efficiency and reduce labor intensity. If you also want to equip your brewery with high-quality malt conveying equipment and brew delicious beer, please contact DEGONG. We will provide you with professional technical support and corresponding beer equipment solutions. Let us help you brew better quality beer.