Checking beer after bright beer tanks is essential to ensure parameters are correct before product reaches filling machines. For Heineken Brasil, a food-safe, in-line pH sensor enables real-time pH measurement directly after the bright beer tanks, ensuring high product quality without the risks associated with traditional glass sensors.
Heineken is the number one brewer in Europe and one of the largest brewers by volume in the world. Heineken Brasil, its Brazilian subsidiary, produces beer and soft drink under brand names including:
One of the most important points for monitoring products for quality attributes is after the bright beer tanks.
“This is a critical control point as it’s the last treatment point before filling, so we need to be sure product parameters are per recipes. pH is one of the most important parameters, and we had been sampling and measuring in the lab, which has its issues, such as delays and possibility of contamination in the sample due to manual operation. In-line conductivity gives us some idea of what’s going on, but it’s slow to react. I was very keen to find a better solution.”
Rafael Fernandes de Almeida, Project Specialist for Heineken Brasil
Mr. de Almeida wanted pH measurement directly from the tanks, this would allow technicians to react immediately if a problem occurs, avoiding negative impact on a large quantity of beer. But use of in-line glass pH sensors here is not possible due to the risk of breakage.
The InPro X1 is an in-line digital pH sensor designed specifically to meet the demands of the food and beverage industry. Rather than having a glass membrane, it features an unbreakable pH-sensing element, the X-Chip, so there is no risk of glass contamination. Further, InPro X1 meets all major regulations for food contact applications.
Being digital, the signal output from the sensor is unaffected by interferences such as moisture that can impact analog signals, so measurements at the transmitter are always reliable. In addition, it contains METTLER TOLEDO Intelligent Sensor Management (ISM™) technology.
One of ISM’s most valuable features is its sensor diagnostic tools. These predict, to the day, when sensor calibration or replacement will be required. This means that maintenance can be planned in advance for when it will truly be needed.
Further, with ISM, the InPro X1 can be calibrated away from the process in any convenient location using ISM Core software.
Our team in Brazil introduced Mr. de Almeida to the InPro X1. He was impressed with what he saw, “One of the features of the InPro X1 that really appealed to us is that it can handle the high temperatures of CIP, so it doesn't have to be removed from the process during cleaning.”
Confident that this was the answer the brewery was looking for, a system comprising an InPro X1, a stationary housing and a multi-parameter transmitter was installed at one of the brewery’s bright beer tanks. After several months in operation without any issues, Mr. de Almeida was very satisfied with the performance and the improved availability of information the new system offers:
“With real-time pH measurements, we have continuous insight into beer quality. This gives us the highest confidence that only beer that meets our recipes’ requirements are reaching the filling line.”
Rafael Fernandes de Almeida, Project Specialist for Heineken Brasil
Such is Heineken’s satisfaction with the InPro X1 that the headquarters for the Brazilian operations has decided to define the InPro X1 as the standard sensor for this application and ordered systems that will be used in six factories across the country.
