EnglishViews: 21 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-09-08 Origin: Site
Copper Pipes: Copper pipes outperform other types of pipes in strength, durability, and appearance. While copper pipes are more susceptible to corrosion and leaks, they transfer heat evenly and are easy to clean. Copper pipes are more expensive than other types of pipes, but they offer the highest heat exchange rate and cool wort faster than stainless steel pipes.
Stainless Steel: Stainless steel is versatile and can be used in any part of the brewery, including pipes and tanks. Brewing beer with stainless steel makes cleaning easier, as it can be cleaned with oxygen-based detergents. Using stainless steel also means less chance of dents, scratches, or corrosion in tanks or pipes.
Black Pipes: Black pipes are used to move water in and out of the brewery. Other pipes can be used for this process, but black pipes are economical and readily available.
Galvanized Pipes: Galvanized pipes are a type of steel pipe. They are coated with zinc, which helps resist corrosion. However, over time, the zinc can react with water, clogging the pipes and causing them to burst. If you use galvanized pipes, ensure they are not exposed to oxygen and are in a closed system.
PVC Pipes: PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is the least expensive piping option. PVC is used in cooling processes, but it can react with various chemicals. In rare cases, this can cause pipe failure. PVC is not resistant to high temperatures and is more suitable for smaller breweries, as they don't require the necessary heat required in larger breweries.
Which is best for breweries? Stainless steel glycol pipe, PPR pipe, and PPR+PEX hybrid pipe are available.
Advantages: Long service life. Hygienic and rust-resistant.
Disadvantages: Strict space requirements; the area must be consistent with the plan, and any changes require local welding.
Advantages: Easy to interface with equipment.
Disadvantages: Joints between PPR pipes are not rust-resistant and require capping to prevent contact with water or other liquids.
Advantages: Suitable for small sites. Because PEX pipe is flexible, it can be bent in a limited area.
Disadvantages: Not suitable for systems larger than 1500L.
The pipe diameter should be determined based on factors such as the characteristics of the conveying medium, flow rate, flow velocity and fluctuations during the production process, resistance loss, and the standard pipe diameter series.
The flow velocity of the medium in the process pipeline affects the flow rate under certain conditions. Given a certain conveying volume, the flow rate determines the pipe diameter. While a smaller pipe diameter can achieve a higher flow rate, thus saving pipeline investment, this results in greater resistance loss, higher energy consumption, and higher operating costs.
The appropriate flow rate is required for different media conveying requirements. Mash conveying flow rates are generally less than 1.5 m/s. A flow rate that is too high will cause glucan gel formation due to shear forces, affecting the filtration of wort and beer. A lauter tun feed rate of less than 1.0 m/s will cause mash components to separate and uneven residue layer thickness. A lower flow rate and bottom feeding are more effective.
During pipeline cleaning and sterilization, the flow rate of cleaning agents and disinfectants must be greater than 1.5 m/s. Lower flow rates will not create a turbulent scrubbing effect, thus failing to achieve the desired cleaning and sterilization results. Other common flow rates are generally 1.5-2.5m/s for hot and cold water, 2m/s for sake, 8-15m/s for compressed air or carbon dioxide, and 0.6-1m/s for chilled water.
The smoothness of the pipe's inner wall affects cleaning and sterilization effectiveness. For the food industry, the cleanliness standard for equipment interior surfaces should be controlled to Ra < 1μm to prevent the accumulation of dirt and bacteria.
Liquids or gases transported by pipes often have a certain internal pressure, so the pipe walls must possess sufficient strength. For piping systems made of a particular material, the strength of the pipe depends on its wall thickness. The greater the internal pressure, the thicker the wall required.
Pipeline design and layout not only impact the cleanliness and aesthetics of the factory floor but also process operations. Substandard product quality, leading to bacterial or bacteriophage contamination, can impact installation and maintenance. Therefore, piping layout must first meet production needs and process requirements, facilitating installation, maintenance, and operational management.
Connecting pipes should be kept as short as possible, with as few valves as possible. Avoid illogical layouts such as pipes running back and forth horizontally, bending, and twisting vertically.
When arranging pipes in layers, large-diameter pipes, heat transfer pipes, gas pipes, insulated pipes, and non-corrosive pipes should be placed on the upper layers; small-diameter pipes, liquid pipes, non-insulated pipes, refrigerant pipes, and corrosive media pipes should be placed on the lower layers. When splitting pipes, gas pipes should exit from the top, and liquid pipes from the bottom. Special cases (such as fermenter refrigerant pipes with low inlet and high elevation) can be designed to meet specific requirements.
For blocked pipes, you can connect a water pipe or compressed air pipe before the valve, change the pipe diameter or reduce the elbow size, install a valve near the equipment outlet, or close the connection from the water pump inlet to the equipment outlet. Avoid piping near motor distribution boards or both.
Select the correct piping connection method. Except for water pipes and drainage pipes, which can be threaded, welding or flange connections are preferred for other pipes.
The pipe rack elevation should not hinder vehicular and pedestrian access. The bottom of the pipe or the bottom of the pipe rack beam should be ≥4.5m above the road surface; sidewalks should be ≥2.2m above the road surface; the minimum clearance height for secondary aisles in workshops is 2m; the clearance height for passages under pipe corridors should be ≥3.2m, or ≥4m if pumps are installed.
Create dead corners within the pipes. Dead corners are defined as deviations in the sterilization temperature caused by some reason during the sterilization process.
The layout of the pipeline industry should meet the following requirements:
Meet production and technical needs;
Easy to operate and maintain;
Clear dead corners, making cleaning and disinfection easy;
A aesthetically pleasing pipeline layout.
