Energy-saving control system and method for intelligent fermentation tank

Abstract

The application discloses an intelligent fermentation tank energy-saving control system and relates to the field of beer production, and solves the technical problem of poor consistency and stability of the current human monitoring mode of the fermentation tank. The system comprises a first viscosity sensor, a conical bottom valve, a yeast discharge valve and a temperature sensor. The first water inlet of the conical bottom valve is connected with the water outlet of the fermentation tank. The first water inlet of the yeast discharge valve is arranged between the first water inlet of the conical bottom valve and the water outlet of the fermentation tank. The second water inlet of the yeast discharge valve is connected with the external tap water supply end. The water outlet of the yeast discharge valve is connected with the external dead yeast recovery system through a yeast recovery pipeline. The second water inlet of the conical bottom valve is connected with the external wort supply end. The water outlet of the conical bottom valve is connected with the external fermentation liquid recovery system. The first viscosity sensor and the temperature sensor are both installed on the water outlet of the fermentation tank. The application eliminates the risk that incomplete discharge leads to yeast autolysis and influences beer quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of beer production, and more specifically, to an energy-saving control system and method for intelligent fermentation tanks. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, in the beer production process: 1. The fermentation tank is first cleaned according to the process, with the temperature of the return liquid at the central CIP at a distance used as the starting point for timing the cleaning.

[0003] 2. After the wort is poured into the tank and the yeast settles, separate the yeast. When separating the yeast, the bottom of the cone needs to be touched manually to prevent the cleaning solution from mixing with the yeast tank.

[0004] 3. After separating the yeast, remove the condensate and dead yeast according to the process.

[0005] 4. Finally, replace the empty wine tanks.

[0006] However, with the continuous advancement of automation, modern fermentation tanks have been changed from cross-pipe systems to valve arrays. The original manual monitoring points in many fermentation tanks were numerous, inconsistent, and unstable, which not only increased cleaning energy consumption, cross-contamination of cleaning liquid, beer loss due to discharge, and workload, but also resulted in incomplete discharge leading to yeast autolysis and affecting beer quality. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system and method to address the shortcomings of the existing technology, and to solve the technical problem of poor consistency and stability of the existing methods of manually monitoring fermenters.

[0008] The intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system of the present invention includes a first viscosity sensor, a conical base valve, a yeast discharge seat valve, and a temperature sensor. The first inlet of the conical base valve is connected to the outlet of the fermenter. The first inlet of the yeast discharge seat valve is located between the first inlet of the conical base valve and the outlet of the fermenter. The second inlet of the yeast discharge seat valve is connected to an external tap water supply. The outlet of the yeast discharge seat valve is connected to an external dead yeast recovery system through a yeast recovery pipe. The second inlet of the conical base valve is connected to an external wort supply. The outlet of the conical base valve is connected to an external fermentation liquid recovery system. The first viscosity sensor and temperature sensor are both installed at the outlet of the fermenter, and the first viscosity sensor, temperature sensor, cone base valve and yeast discharge seat valve are all electrically connected to the controller.

[0009] As a further improvement, a second viscosity sensor is installed on the yeast recovery pipeline, and the second viscosity sensor is electrically connected to the controller.

[0010] Furthermore, the controller includes a PLC and an IO-link host.

[0011] An energy-saving control method for an intelligent fermenter using the above-mentioned intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system includes: acquiring the real-time temperature of the fermentation liquid in the fermenter through the temperature sensor; acquiring the real-time viscosity of the fermentation liquid in the fermenter through the first viscosity sensor and the second viscosity sensor; and triggering a fermenter cleaning strategy based on the real-time temperature and the real-time viscosity.

[0012] As a further improvement, the fermenter cleaning strategy is as follows: Set the return liquid temperature, compare the real-time temperature with the return liquid temperature, and when the fermenter needs to be cleaned and the real-time temperature is equal to the return liquid temperature, open the yeast discharge seat valve and the cone base valve to start cleaning the fermenter. Set a stop cleaning temperature, compare the real-time temperature with the stop cleaning temperature, and when the yeast in the fermenter settles and the separate tank pipeline needs to be cleaned and the real-time temperature is greater than the stop cleaning temperature, forcibly stop cleaning the fermenter and issue a cross-contamination fault warning. Set a yeast viscosity threshold, compare the yeast viscosity threshold with the real-time viscosity, and close the yeast discharge valve when the real-time viscosity equals the yeast viscosity threshold. When the real-time viscosity is zero, the cone base valve is closed.

[0013] Furthermore, the temperature at which the cleaning process is stopped is 15℃~25℃.

[0014] Beneficial effects The advantages of this invention are: 1. This invention incorporates a first viscosity sensor, a cone-shaped base valve, a yeast discharge valve, and a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor acquires the real-time temperature of the fermentation liquid inside the fermenter, and the first viscosity sensor acquires the real-time viscosity of the fermentation liquid inside the fermenter. Based on the real-time temperature and viscosity, a fermenter cleaning strategy is triggered. This optimizes the fermenter cleaning process, reduces cleaning energy consumption, prevents cross-contamination of cleaning liquid, beer loss during discharge, and reduces workload, thereby eliminating the risk of incomplete discharge leading to yeast autolysis and affecting beer quality.

[0015] 2. The present invention installs a second viscosity sensor on the yeast recovery pipeline to achieve redundancy and prevent failure. The dual sensor mutual calibration is more accurate, CIP verification is safer, control is more stable, batch consistency is better, and risk is lower. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system of the present invention.

[0017] Among them: 1-fermentation tank, 2-first viscosity sensor, 3-cone base valve, 4-yeast discharge seat valve, 5-second viscosity sensor, 6-yeast recovery pipeline, 7-temperature sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The present invention will be further described below with reference to embodiments, but this does not constitute any limitation on the present invention. Any limited modifications made by any person within the scope of the claims of the present invention are still within the scope of the claims of the present invention. See Figure 1 The present invention discloses an intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system, which includes a first viscosity sensor 2, a cone base valve 3, a yeast discharge seat valve 4, and a temperature sensor 7. The first inlet of the cone base valve 3 is connected to the outlet of the fermenter 1. The first inlet of the yeast discharge seat valve 4 is located between the first inlet of the cone base valve 3 and the outlet of the fermenter 1. The second inlet of the yeast discharge seat valve 4 is connected to an external tap water supply. The outlet of the yeast discharge seat valve 4 is connected to an external dead yeast recovery system through a yeast recovery pipe 6. The second inlet of the cone base valve 3 is connected to an external wort supply. The outlet of the cone base valve 3 is connected to an external fermentation liquid recovery system.

[0019] The first viscosity sensor 2 and the temperature sensor 7 are both installed at the outlet of fermenter 1. The first viscosity sensor 2, the temperature sensor 7, the cone base valve 3, and the yeast discharge valve 4 are all electrically connected to the controller. The temperature sensor 2 is an FZ002 temperature sensor.

[0020] A second viscosity sensor 5 is installed on the yeast recovery pipe 6, and the second viscosity sensor 5 is electrically connected to the controller. Fermentation is a continuous process that cannot be stopped arbitrarily; with only one viscosity sensor, if it drifts, scales, becomes covered by foam, or is not cleaned properly after CIP, viscosity data may be lost, requiring manual sampling, which is delayed and inaccurate. Redundancy is achieved to prevent failures; dual-sensor cross-calibration ensures greater accuracy, CIP verification is safer, control is more stable, batch consistency is better, and risk is lower.

[0021] Both the first viscosity sensor 2 and the second viscosity sensor 5 are electrically connected to the controller via IO-link communication. The controller includes a PLC and an IO-link host. The IO-link host is the gateway connecting the PLC and the sensors, responsible for protocol conversion, bidirectional digital communication, and equipment management. The inlet of fermenter 1 is connected to an external CIP cleaning terminal. Both the first viscosity sensor 2 and the second viscosity sensor 5 are JCV-1000 viscosity sensors.

[0022] The IO-link host and PLC module, based on temperature electrodes and the viscosity and temperature information transmitted back from the electrodes, achieve the following: 1. Optimize the fermentation tank cleaning process. 2. Prevent cross-contamination of cleaning liquid. 3. Intelligently discharge condensate and dead yeast. 4. Replace empty tanks after beer dispensing. These four intelligent judgments solve the problems of cleaning energy consumption, cross-contamination of cleaning liquid, beer loss during discharge, and reduced workload, thereby eliminating the risk of incomplete discharge leading to yeast autolysis and affecting beer quality.

[0023] An energy-saving control method for an intelligent fermenter using the above-mentioned intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system includes: obtaining the real-time temperature of the fermentation liquid in the fermenter 1 through a temperature sensor 7; obtaining the real-time viscosity of the fermentation liquid in the fermenter 1 through a first viscosity sensor 2 and a second viscosity sensor 5; and triggering a fermenter cleaning strategy based on the real-time temperature and real-time viscosity.

[0024] The fermentation tank cleaning strategy is as follows: Set the return liquid temperature and compare the real-time temperature with the return liquid temperature. When the fermenter needs to be cleaned and the real-time temperature is equal to the return liquid temperature, open the yeast discharge seat valve 4 and the cone base valve 3 to start cleaning the fermenter 1.

[0025] Simultaneously, the cleaning time is started. Without considering the warm-up time of the connecting pipe between fermenter 1 and CIP cleaning end, the distance between the CIP cleaning end and fermenter is obtained. For every 50 meters increase in the distance between the CIP cleaning end and fermenter, the cleaning time increases by 6 minutes.

[0026] A stop cleaning temperature is set, and the real-time temperature is compared with the stop cleaning temperature. When the yeast in fermenter 1 settles and the branch pipes need cleaning, and the real-time temperature is higher than the stop cleaning temperature, the cleaning of fermenter 1 is forcibly stopped, and a cross-contamination fault warning is issued to remind employees to handle the cross-contamination fault. In this embodiment, the stop cleaning temperature is 20°C.

[0027] Set a yeast viscosity threshold and compare it with the real-time viscosity. When the real-time viscosity equals the yeast viscosity threshold, close the yeast discharge valve 4. The yeast viscosity threshold is 93%. The suitable viscosity range for yeast is 80%-93%. Higher yeast cell concentrations result in a significant increase in the viscosity of the suspension system and a significant decrease in the reading; the higher or lower the value within the range, the more concentrated the yeast becomes.

[0028] The suitable viscosity range for wort and fermentation broth is 94%-96%. This viscosity is slightly higher than that of pure water and represents the mainstream range throughout the fermentation process. Fluctuations in the readings can reflect changes in sugar, protein, and polysaccharide content, and are used to determine the progress of fermentation.

[0029] The viscosity of water should be greater than or equal to 98%. The percentages mentioned above refer to relative viscosity, with room temperature pure water as the reference and the pure water reading set to 100%. The higher the value, the more dilute the fluid, the better its fluidity, and the lower the viscosity; the lower the value, the more viscous the fluid, the greater the flow resistance, and the higher the viscosity.

[0030] When the real-time viscosity is zero, close the cone base valve 3. This indicates that fermentation tank 1 has been emptied of wine, indicating that there is no more fermentation liquid. Switch to the next fermentation tank 1 to prevent the empty tank from drawing oxygen and affecting the quality of the sake.

[0031] This optimizes the fermentation tank cleaning process, reduces cleaning energy consumption, prevents cross-contamination of cleaning solutions, beer loss due to discharge, and reduces workload, thereby eliminating the risk of incomplete discharge leading to yeast autolysis and affecting beer quality.

[0032] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several modifications and improvements without departing from the structure of the present invention, and these will not affect the effectiveness of the implementation of the present invention or the practicality of the patent.

Claims

1. An intelligent fermentation tank energy-saving control system, characterized in that, The system includes a first viscosity sensor (2), a cone base valve (3), a yeast discharge seat valve (4), and a temperature sensor (7). The first inlet of the cone base valve (3) is connected to the outlet of the fermentation tank (1). The first inlet of the yeast discharge seat valve (4) is located between the first inlet of the cone base valve (3) and the outlet of the fermentation tank (1). The second inlet of the yeast discharge seat valve (4) is connected to an external tap water supply. The outlet of the yeast discharge seat valve (4) is connected to an external dead yeast recovery system through a yeast recovery pipe (6). The second inlet of the cone base valve (3) is connected to an external wort supply. The outlet of the cone base valve (3) is connected to an external fermentation liquid recovery system. The first viscosity sensor (2) and temperature sensor (7) are both installed at the outlet of the fermenter (1). The first viscosity sensor (2), temperature sensor (7), cone base valve (3) and yeast discharge valve (4) are all electrically connected to the controller.

2. The intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system according to claim 1, characterized in that, A second viscosity sensor (5) is installed on the yeast recovery pipe (6), and the second viscosity sensor (5) is electrically connected to the controller.

3. The intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The controller includes a PLC and an IO-link host.

4. An energy-saving control method for an intelligent fermenter using the intelligent fermenter energy-saving control system according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method includes obtaining the real-time temperature of the fermentation liquid in the fermenter (1) through the temperature sensor (7), obtaining the real-time viscosity of the fermentation liquid in the fermenter (1) through the first viscosity sensor (2) and the second viscosity sensor (5), and triggering a fermenter cleaning strategy based on the real-time temperature and real-time viscosity.

5. The energy-saving control method for intelligent fermenters according to claim 4, characterized in that, The fermenter cleaning strategy is as follows: Set the return liquid temperature, compare the real-time temperature with the return liquid temperature, and when the fermenter needs to be cleaned and the real-time temperature is equal to the return liquid temperature, open the yeast discharge seat valve (4) and the cone base valve (3) to start cleaning the fermenter (1); Set the stop cleaning temperature, compare the real-time temperature with the stop cleaning temperature, and when the yeast in the fermenter (1) settles and the separate tank pipeline needs to be cleaned and the real-time temperature is greater than the stop cleaning temperature, the cleaning of the fermenter (1) is forcibly stopped and a cross-contamination fault warning is issued. Set a yeast viscosity threshold, compare the yeast viscosity threshold with the real-time viscosity, and close the yeast discharge valve (4) when the real-time viscosity is equal to the yeast viscosity threshold. When the real-time viscosity is zero, close the cone base valve (3).

6. The energy-saving control method for intelligent fermenters according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cleaning stop temperature is 15℃~25℃.

Images