Sanitisation of the interiors of beer casks and cegs with UHP water

摘要

Apparatus for sanitising the internal surfaces of a beer cask by washing the interiors with jets of water at ultra-high-pressures (UHP) of around 2500 Barg, thereby scavenging away any organic/inorganic scale adhering to the container surface and rupturing any living cells present on the surface that would otherwise pose a microbiological infection hazard to the product. The apparatus includes a conveyor system for transferring the keg to a clamping station. A UHP water spray lance is inserted into the container via a robotic arm. A method for cleaning the keg is also provided comprising the lance spraying water at a pressure of 2500 Barg and the step of transferring the cask to an internal inspection station. The shive may be located by a laser beam. The nozzle on the spray arm may move at a controlled speed empirically derived for the appropriate size/type of container. After cleaning, the UHP water may be turned off automatically and the water may be recovered, filtered and re-used. After inspection, the containers may be scanned via RFID