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“Always optical” modern oxygen management in breweries

A growing number of breweries and brewing groups are standardizing oxygen (O₂) measurement using optical technology. Compared to traditional O₂ measurement, optical O₂ measurement reduces operating costs as it requires less maintenance and calibration, provides better measuring stability, and has a rapid response time. The versatility of optical O₂ measurement allows it to be used throughout the brewery in areas such as the brew house, filling, carbon dioxide (CO₂) recovery, and wastewater treatment. Examples of areas where optical O₂ measurement is applied include wort aeration, after aeration monitoring dissolved O₂ content to assure optimal conditions for fermentation. Fermentation process, the CO₂ gas produced can be recovered, purified, and liquefied. Using optical O₂ technology to monitor as well as state-of-the-art technology to process the gas results in knowledge about the source of the CO₂ gas, lower CO₂ costs, and a reduction of CO₂ emissions. Filtration and filling, following the fermentation process, it is important to monitor and prevent O₂ pick-up during filtration and before filling. Faster than traditional measurement, optical O₂ measurement reduces product loss and increases efficiency with shorter switch over times. Packaging, even if the O₂ quantity in the beer or beverage is within specifications, packaging will affect the total O₂ enclosed in a package. The total package oxygen (TPO) has a major influence on a product’s shelf life and flavor stability and can only be measured in the package. New insight on TPO based on the differentiated O₂ measurement (head-space O₂ and dissolved oxygen [DO]) compared to the traditional method of calculating DO × Z will be shared. The innovative optical O₂ measurement technology achieves a fast and accurate picture of the entire brewing or beverage production process. This results in quicker response times, an immediate reduction of product losses, and reduced operating expenses.

Frank Verkoelen completed mechanical engineering studies at HTS Venlo in 1982 and began working for Haffmans BV as a project engineer for CO₂ recovery in 1984. Frank moved to the R&D Department in 1987 and over time became the R&D manager. In 2001 he became the product manager, QC and in 2004 became senior product manager responsible for QC and in-line equipment.

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