Coriolis Flow Meter Technology And Beer Pipeline

A unique flow problem was shown in a recent project in Belgium. A popular and prominent brewery, situated in the heart of Bruges for decades, acquired a bottling facility out-of-town to meet towering beer production demands from increasing sales. 

The problem is that owners of the brewery didn’t want to move the facilities. Neither did they want to deliver beer in tankers because it could be the cause of traffic. Also, they don’t want to worry about the costs of either owning or renting the tankers.

The only solution they could think of is a beer pipeline, which would be the first in the entire world. However, it required a piece of high-quality equipment to make it work. And this is where Coriolis meters come about. 

In this post, we’ll walk you through how Coriolis flow meters keep the beer flowing in the world’s first underground beer pipeline. Read on to know more!
 

Flow Meter and Piping Requirements

The brewery’s most significant investment was the creation of the underground beer pipeline that runs along the highway. The flow meter selection to precisely measure temperature, volume, and flow, while probing for aeration that’s typical in the beer movement and transportation process, was vital.

Although presumably simple, there are many options to think about when choosing flow meters for this kind of project. A lot of breweries around the world make use of magnetic meters since this device is excellent for general flow measurement. 

Despite that, other variables were present, like multiphase flow. Aside from the beer flowing underground, cleaning and water solution used to sanitize the pipelines need to be measured regularly. For this reason, Coriolis flow at meters www.smartmeasurement.com became the preferred technology of the brewery. 

In fact, the brewery was keen and eager to buy a high-quality flow meter that could meet top-of-the-line standards and guarantee the success of the project.
 

Conditions for Success

The Coriolis flow meter technology, with years of demonstrated reliability and accuracy, was the ideal solution for this project. Well, due to the fact that there was more to think about than just transporting beer from one location to another. 

The cleaning tank valves and the beer are regulated relative to the measurements. The whole automated process can be seen or viewed from a control screen that keeps track of the velocity of all the fluids, which should be no less than three meters per second to keep the pipe completely clean. 

It was critical to choose a flow meter with self-calibrating diagnostics to make sure that the technology will keep on operating at peak performance after multiple transfers. Also, to keep the same accuracy as first installed.
 

Advanced Phase Measurement Software

The low mass of carbon dioxide in the beer has hardly any effect on the measurement. Even so, including Advanced Phase Measurement Software to the sensor will inform you ahead if the CO2 changes along the way. Thus, you can correct it.

This particular software adjusts or amends to the operating processes. So, it can both determine and assess excess gas and let precise measurement continually without the risk of downtimes.

Moreover, the software provides detailed insight or information into what’s happening in the pipes at any time, reducing the requirement for manual sampling. Also, it cuts down errors in the transferred fluids or products. 

Advanced Phase Measurement also adds further security and protection to the process, which is even more crucial in this project due to the beer travel-distance in the pipe. Take note that access to the beer flowing underground while it’s being transported is almost impossible.
 

Degrees Plato Measurement

It’s critical to precisely calculate degrees Plato for breweries. This measurement denotes the density of a solution as the rate of common sugar by weight. By that, we mean, eight degrees Plato is equivalent to eight percent sucrose. 

Common sugar is what fends for alcohol content and fermentation. Also, certain substances can ferment or need the same of sucrose to ferment. Thus, brewers need to know the specific beer gravity pre-fermentation and post-fermentation. 

These calculations or measurements can identify the alcohol content of the beer. So, if the beer label states eight percent alcohol, then brewers must make sure that every bottled beer and every batch has eight percent alcohol.
 

Takeaway

The success of the construction of the world’s first underground beer pipeline was because the project was carefully engineered. Considering all potential risks and all parameters, and of course, choosing the correct equipment. 

The Belgium brewery focused on high-quality and innovative solutions with top concerns put on accurately gauging the beer to meet the excise declaration regulations and maintaining quality beer standards. With a lot of stakeholders locally, the brewer was keen to create a brand-new standard of supremacy for beer transfer. Today, with its continuing success, the brewery undoubtedly sets a high standard for other companies to follow.