Air Return Pipes of Beer Filling Machines

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The filling machine is one of the most important pieces of equipment in beer production, which plays an important role in the wide spread of finished products and beer loss. Aiming at the defects of the return pipe of the filling machine, the aim of reducing beer consumption and improving the competitiveness of enterprises is achieved by improving the structure of the painting pipe, which contributes to both economic and social benefits. 
 
At present, the mainstream beer filling machines are mostly WF technology, that is, isobaric and isobaric filling and the filling time is fixed. For the filling objects with different bottle types and capacities, the filling effect will be very different, and the wine loss will be great. Wherein, the filling process
It usually includes the following steps:

(1) Vacuuming: the bottle and the centering cover are tightly pressed onto the filling valve, and the vacuum valve is pushed open by a fixed stopper. In a short time, the vacuum degree in the bottle can reach 90%.

(2) CO2 filling: by operating the handle of the butterfly valve (roller), the CO2 gas valve is opened for a short time, so that CO2 can be introduced into the bottle from the wine jar; This process is very short, and it will end when the handle of a butterfly valve (roller) is reset; At this time, the pressure in the bottle rises to near atmospheric pressure.

(3) Secondary vacuuming: the first step is repeated, and about 90% vacuum degree is obtained again. As the mixture of the air left after the last vacuuming and CO2 is pumped out this time, only about 1% of the air in the bottle is left after this step.

(4) Secondary CO2 filling: Repeat the second step, because of the CO2 filling, the CO2 concentration in the bottle is very high, and finally, the pressure in the bottle and the pressure in the wine jar reach a balance.

(5) Filling: when the pressure in the wine jar is balanced with that in the bottle, the valve handle of the butterfly valve (roller) lifts the seal of the beer valve with the help of a spring, and the beer liquid flows into the bottle in a thin film shape through the wall of the umbrella-shaped dispersing cap marsh bottle; At the same time, the CO2 gas in the bottle returns to the wine jar through the gas return pipe.

(6) After filling to the specified liquid level, it enters the liquor stabilization stage. Due to the function of the communicating device principle, some residual liquor exists in the gas return device (including the gas return pipe) at this time (the longer the stabilization stage, the more liquor content in the gas return device will be until it reaches the liquid level of the wine tank). After the stabilization, close the beer valve seal to stop filling; The air valve is closed by the movement of the valve handle of the (butterfly valve) roller, and the pressure relief valve installed on the side is pushed open by a fixed block, so that the bottle is communicated with a small throttle nozzle, so that the pressure in the bottle gradually tends to atmospheric pressure due to throttle and exhaust, thus avoiding beer foaming caused by sudden pressure change. However, in the existing filling process, after the filling of the isobaric filling machine is finished, when the flushing valve is opened, the CO2 in the wine tank will blow out the liquor in the return pipe, thus causing great filling.
 
Tracheal structure

In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects in the prior art, on the basis of not changing the equipment parameters and process parameters of the original beer filling valve, the diameter of the filling air return pipe can be adjusted according to the corresponding bottle type, thus effectively preventing the phenomenon such as wine surge, accurately controlling the filling level and reducing the wine consumption, and researching and improving the air return pipe of beer filling machine, as shown in Figure 1.
 
The air return pipe of the filling machine comprises a hollow air return pipe body, and a groove is arranged below the air return pipe body; a conical buffer ring is arranged between the body and the groove, and the conical bottom end of the buffer ring is arranged at the end far away from the groove; The diameter of the bottom end of the buffer cone is larger than the outer diameter of the air return pipe body, and the buffer ring can be suitable for filling various bottle types; The angle between the buffer surface downward and the outer wall of the air return pipe body is 15-45 degrees, and the filling level can be accurately controlled during operation. The top and bottom of the groove are connected with the inner side wall of the air return pipe body, and the bottom of the groove is provided with a plurality of through holes and a hollow pipe, thus preventing the sealing ball from blocking the through holes at the bottom of the groove. The top of the inner tube of the groove is a conical inner tube, the inner wall of the conical inner tube is fixed with a variable diameter bushing which is a cylinder, the inner wall of the conical inner tube is internally twisted, and the outer wall of the variable diameter bushing is provided with a screw thread matched with the inner thread of the conical inner tube, and the port of the variable diameter bushing and the top of the tube body are provided with a welding layer, which can better prevent the phenomenon of wine surge, etc. The lower groove and the air return pipe are provided with wrench positions, which can be directly disassembled from below with a special wrench, which is more convenient to disassemble and improves the working efficiency.
 
The structure has the advantage that the air return pipe can effectively prevent the phenomenon of wine surge on the basis of not changing the equipment parameters and process parameters of the original beer filling valve, and furthermore, the groove is arranged at the bottom of the air return pipe, and a sealing ball which can move flexibly is arranged in the groove so that the bottom of the air return pipe is sealed by the sealing ball under the buoyancy of beer liquor, and the waste of liquor caused by liquor entering the air return pipe is avoided.
 

Figure 1: 10 Air return pipe body, 20 grooves, 30 through holes, 40 sealing balls, 50 pipes, 60 wrench positions and 70 buffer rings.

Comparative experimental data

Taking the 480ml bottle as an example, the experimental comparison of the air return pipes before and after the improvement is made, and other conditions are the same. Table 1 shows that 10 experiments were carried out on the lost beer brewing of the return pipe before the improvement. The total amount of sake received was 2307.00kL, the total amount of finished products stored in the warehouse was 2228.38kL, and the lowest wine loss was 2.99%, the highest was 4.38%, and the average wine loss was 3.41%. Table 2 shows the lost beer of the return pipe after the improvement. Eight experiments were carried out, and the total amount of sake received was 1,916.00 KL. After the improvement, the loss of beer in the return pipe decreased by 1.59 percentage points compared with that before the improvement, and the effect was remarkable.

Table 1 Loss of beer in return pipe before improvement
Table 2 Loss of beer in return pipe after improvement  
Conclusion
 
Competition in the beer market is fierce, so beer factories need to save energy and reduce consumption to save costs and improve market competitiveness. The reduction of wine loss during beer filling can reduce the cost. Through the research on the improvement of the return pipe of the filling machine, a beer factory with an output of 200,000 kL can reduce the wine loss by about 3000kL every year, bringing considerable economic benefits to the enterprise. At the same time, the discharge of waste wine is reduced, the pressure on the sewage treatment system is reduced, and it also contributes to environmental protection. In short, the reduction of enterprise costs and the improvement of competitiveness involves many factors, and each member of the brewery should contribute his wisdom to the enterprise.