Process Modelling and Sensitivity Analysis of Roller Mill and Lauter Tun Subsystem Operation

摘要

Industrial beer production faces many technical as well as economic challenges,with increased competition and trends towards craft beers and non-alcoholic beverages posing new challenges to brewers,who strive to minimise production costs and processing times whilst improving product quality.Milling,mashing and lautering are a major bottleneck in sweet wort production;however,mathematical models describing these unit operations remain elusive.This study focuses on modelling these unit operations as a subsystem,using a dataset compiled from a brewhouse pilot plant.A first-principles model using batch filtration theory is conceived for the lauter tun,with another statistical model based on Partial Least Squares(PLS)regression describes the milling and mashing operations.The first-principles model describes reasonably well lautering data;the PLS model offers reasonable accuracy for batch time prediction.A holistic view on the brewhouse is then emphasised through a sensitivity analysis,in which variables such as mashing agitation speed and pre-mashing,resting and mash-out temperatures have been found to have the greatest influence on subsystem batch time.Strategies for improved operating protocols are also presented,highlighting the strengths and limitations of the models proposed.