Solar solutions for beverage production
Solar thermal energy is an ideal energy source for a range of process stages in breweries and beverage production plants, enabling substantial cuts in energy costs and CO2 emissions.
More and more beverage producers are investigating the possibilities with solar thermal energy to increase both profitability and sustainability. Beverage production consumes substantial amounts of energy, most of it as low to medium temperature heat. This, in combination with the fact that production peaks during the sunniest months of the year, makes breweries and beverage plants perfect for solar thermal energy.
Cut your energy costs
Up to 70% of the energy used in a typical beverage production plant can be replaced with solar energy, resulting in lower OPEX and higher profitability.
Reduce CO2 emissions
Replacing carbon-based fuels with solar thermal energy leads to dramatic cuts in CO2 emissions. As more and more customers evaluate CO2 emissions when choosing products, low emissions is getting increasingly important to stay competitive.
Protect your results against rising energy prices
The more fossil energy you replace with solar energy, the more protected your bottom line is against sudden increases in fuel prices.
Build your brand
Beer and soft drinks have a very strong connection to the sun and consumption peaks during summer. Using solar energy in the production of your beverages brings new opportunities to build your brand in a positive way.
Solar thermal applications in beverage production
There are many ways to integrate a solar thermal energy system with a beverage processing line. The energy can be supplied to the processes on either the utility supply level or the process level. Absolicon’s team of application experts support you in finding the optimum solution based on the operating conditions in your plant.
- Cleaning
- Washing
- Boiling
- Mashing
- Pasteurization
- Cooling
- Preheating of boiler feedwater
Industry solutions
Examples of where solar thermal heat can be used include:
- Cleaning in place (CIP) – Solar heat can be used for heating cleaning fluids in a CIP station. The integration point is set before the conventional heat supply, ensuring the set temperature of the CIP system is always reached.
- Pasteurization – The intermediate water circuit in the pasteurizer can be heated with solar energy. The set pasteurization temperature is achieved by topping the solar heat with conventional steam before the supply.
- Drying processes – The incoming air in a dryer can be heated with solar energy before the conventional heating supply. This will ensure the highest possible efficiency while ensuring that the set temperature of the air is reached.
Chilling
Chillers are used in many processes in beverage production. Absorption chillers operating on thermal energy can be powered with solar heat and have been used for several years in various industrial sectors.
Absolicon’s solar collectors can be integrated with both single and double-effect chillers and switching to solar-driven chilling often has a substantial positive effect on the plant’s electricity consumption.
Heat storage
Adding a heat battery to your solar energy system allows you to operate on solar thermal energy 24 hours per day. It is charged during the day when the output from the solar energy system is at peak level and is discharged during the night.
There are several different types of heat storages, the most common solution is to store hot water in a set of well-insulated tanks. If you decide to implement a heat storage solution, we can support you during the design phase and help optimize the complete system, including the solar collectors, heat storage, and process integration.
References
Learn how leading beverage producers are benefiting from solar thermal energy in their production plants:
AB InBev – Maputo Brewery, Mozambique
Carlsberg Group – Olympic Brewery, Greece
Get started
Download our application brochure by clicking the button below, and contact us for an initial discussion about the opportunities with solar thermal energy and how it could be applied in your plant.
