Fermentation Cooling Jacket with Glycol Circulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional fermentation cooling systems are costly, difficult to manufacture, and inefficient in maintaining uniform temperature across the entire vessel due to limited contact surface area and reliance on external cooling methods, which can lead to bacterial contamination and inadequate temperature control.
Innovation Solution
A fermentation cooling system featuring an insulating jacket made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) or similar materials that surrounds a stainless steel vessel, with a glycol cooling solution in contact with the vessel to provide 100% surface contact for efficient heat transfer, eliminating the need for a double-walled vessel and enhancing temperature control throughout the vessel volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a double-walled vessel with cooling fluid circulation is used, then temperature control is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating jacket and cooling fluid containment are merged into a single integrated structure. The jacket itself serves as the cooling chamber, eliminating the need for separate internal cooling coils or double-walled construction. This reduces device complexity while maintaining effective temperature control through direct contact of the cooling fluid with the jacket's inner surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling fluid acts as an intermediary substance that transfers thermal energy from the vessel wall to the fermentation medium. By circulating glycol or similar cooling fluid through the jacket, the system achieves uniform temperature distribution without requiring complex internal cooling mechanisms within the vessel.
2Temperature
If external cooling methods are used, then cooling is achieved, but bacterial contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling mechanism is extracted from the internal fermentation environment and placed in the external jacket. This separation ensures that the cooling fluid circulation system does not introduce contamination risks to the sterile fermentation medium, as the cooling function operates entirely outside the sealed vessel chamber.
3Device complexity
If limited surface area cooling is used, then device simplicity is maintained, but temperature uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling surface area is expanded by transitioning from point or line contact (coils or plates) to surface contact through the jacket. The cooling fluid flows along the entire outer surface of the vessel, creating a two-dimensional heat transfer interface that significantly increases effective cooling area while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cooling system provides locally optimized temperature control at every point around the vessel perimeter. The cooling fluid circulation ensures that each section of the jacket maintains appropriate thermal conditions, creating uniform temperature distribution throughout the fermentation medium through distributed local cooling zones.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves efficient and uniform temperature control within the fermentation vessel, reducing the risk of bacterial growth and contamination while minimizing costs and equipment complexity, ensuring consistent cooling of beverages from top to bottom.
Implementation Method 1
A refrigerant line wrapped around the vessel and configured to cool the glycol solution and vessel wall to thereby cool the liquid in the vessel
Implementation Method 2
An insulating jacket made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) or similar materials that surrounds a stainless steel vessel
Data Source
AI summary
A fermentation system having a vessel defining a chamber for holding liquids and including a lower aperture. An insulating jacket is disposed around the vessel. A cooling fluid is disposed between the insulating jacket and the vessel. The cooling fluid is in fluid communication with a fluid pump. A refrigerant line is wrapped around the vessel and is configured to cool the fluid and the vessel, resulting in cooling of liquids disposed in the chamber. A beverage line operably couples the lower aperture with a dispensing spigot. The beverage line is wrapped around the vessel and is at least partially submerged in the fluid. A sediment drain line is disposed below the lower aperture and configured to drain sediment that accumulates on a bottom of the vessel.