Success Story
Condensate Pumps At Molson’s Present Energy Savings
Mechanical Pressure Powered Condensate Pumps Provide Energy Savings at Canada’s Oldest Brewery Company.
Molson’s, Canada’s oldest brewery, since 1786, and North America’s oldest beer brand has brewing methods rooted in a tradition of quality. The Molson’s Vancouver British Columbia plant has received many inter-company awards for the efficiency of their plant operations. When a project was identified to reduce the flash steam losses from the brewing kettles, Scott Gordon, Molson’s Chief Engineer contacted Andrew Reynolds. Eliminate flash steam losses without affecting the brewing process.
The original design employed float and thermostatic steam traps that returned condensate via an overhead return line to a vented condensate transfer tank. This produced flash steam losses. Between brews and during certain recipe runs, jackets of the brew kettles would be flooded with condensate affecting heat transfer.
The solution was condensate pump packages for each kettle. By closing the condensate return system, flash steam losses were eliminated. The kettle condensate is now transferred directly to the dome of the DA tank. The design also insured that all condensate is removed immediately from the brew kettles under all process conditions.
The results are the pressure-powered pumps are saving Molson’s money by reducing flash steam losses. An added benefit is increased output from the kettles. By reducing brew times, more output from the same kettles are being realized.
Scott Gordon reports, “The numbers are still coming in. We have achieved energy savings by eliminating flash steam losses. Our brew kettles are operating more efficiently. It has been a very successful project.”
Did You Know?
Consider Installing a Condensing Economizer
Boilers equipped with condensing economizers can have an overall efficiency that exceeds 90%. A condensing economizer can increase overall heat recovery and steam system efficiency by up to 10% by reducing the flue gas temperature below its dew point and improves the effectiveness of waste heat recovery and fall under 2 categories. An indirect contact condensing economizer removes heat from hot flue gases by passing them through one or more shell-and-tube or tubular heat exchangers. A direct contact condensing economizer consists of a vapor-conditioning chamber followed by a countercurrent spray chamber. In the spray chamber, the cool liquid come into direct contact with the hot flue gas, providing a non-fouling heat transfer surface
