Breweries

Reduce humidity and eliminate condensation while using energy recovery year round.

Effects of Uncontrolled Humidity

Mold and bacterial growth has long been a problem for brewers.  Beers must be stored in large vessels at low temperatures for several weeks after brewing before they are ready for bottling. As thousands of gallons of beer are manufactured, the effects of high humidity and continuous condensation can create major issues.

In brewing, the storage vessels are often cooled to around +2ºC.  As ambient air enters the storage areas, condensation can quickly form on the vessels, pipework and the cold wall surfaces in the corridors.

Munters Solution

Munters solution is to reduce the moisture load in the air using desiccant dehumidification, thus eliminating the condensation.  Munters desiccant dehumidifiers for beer production can dry air by passing it through a wheel coated with a desiccant material. Once condensation is under control, drying times can be reduced after wash-down with the dry air system, and the formation of microbiological growth eliminated. 

Munters controlled climate prevents condensation, mold growth, and bacteria on cold surfaces throughout the storage areas. Wash-down times are shortened and removing mold or condensation is no longer a frequent necessity.

Many customers have implemented a "divide and conquer" philosophy for their latent (moisture) and sensible loads for both new construction and plant retrofits. Due to the large space and cooling load of most brewery applications, larger airflows may be needed to handle the sensible loads in the space. Many customers have benefited from setting up the Munters system to dehumidify the air that is needed for the humidity load in the space. They will then utilize cooling only systems to handle space load.

Advantages with Munters

• Smaller ductwork for the dehumidification air
• Coils operate dry; no wet coils to be cleaned to prevent bacteria and mold
• Easier to manage the plant energy balance as these coils are no longer dealing with the swings of seasonal and daily ambient air