SIGNIFICANCE OF STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL ON COST REDUCTION IN BREWERY INDUSTRY


            Statistical process control is the utilization of statistical methods to control and monitor a process to make sure that the system is efficient in the creation of products.


            Factors that may affect the product’s or service’s quality can be identified and remedied if a statistical process control is applied thus eliminating errors and wastes. Aside from eliminating waste, the application of statistical process control can reduce the number of man-hours and the length of time a product can be produced or a service rendered.  Shortened time is mostly due to a significant reduction in repeat works, elimination of bottlenecks, considerable reduction in wait times, and other causes of delays.


            Water, yeast, hops, sugar or corn syrups and/or grains, cereals and/or barley are the ingredients used in the process of brewing and manufacturing beer. A filtering system, usually the reverse osmosis carbon filtration,  is  used to pre-treat water.


            In 1994, it was recorded that the group Food and Kindred Products  expended an estimated seven percent of primary energy. Of the total energy used, brewery industries which includes distilleries, wineries, and carbonated drink companies used a rough estimate of about four percent in their energy processing usages and forty percent in their manufacturing energy usage.


            The entire primary energy utilized by the industry of malt beverages is more or less sixty percent which includes coal and natural gas. These are principally utilized to create steam to service a variety of processes and to provide an onsite electricity.


            In 1994, 221 million dollars were recorded as the malt beverage industry’s total expenditures with regards to energy consumption. From this figure, fifty-six percents is attributed to electricity expenditures.


            To lower the consumption of energy and thereby reduce costs in brewery operations,  brewery industries should utilize the following process approach: 1) a thorough control and maintenance of equipment that cross-cut, meaning an equipment that can do two or more functions; and 2) utilization of a technology that can give the maximum output and the optimization of process controls are the prime factors in generating savings on energy in any brewery plant.


            In the processes of mashing / Lauter Tun, waste heat can be trapped and later used for other procedures. In addition, it can use compression filters to minimize cycle times, lessen moisture from grain, boost concentration of worth, and to raise the produced brew up to a maximum of 12 daily.


            In boiling and cooling of worth, vapor condensers can be used to recover heat.  The recovered heat can then provide adequate hot water to be used for brewing and cleaning processes. Thermal vapor recompression can also be used to boil worth.  A study by Klein-Carl and Reichert showed that its use can generate a considerable amount of saving on energy by raising the level of heat transfer efficiency hence, diminishing circulation pump requirement and minimizing boiling hours.  


To speed up fermentation, yeast fermented that is immobilized can be used.  It lowers cost and can produce savings by reusing yeast. Moreover, fermentation tanks that are closed can be used to recover carbon dioxide. This can be later used in the process of carbonation. The process entails lower output of capital and it also decreases consumption of water utilized for scrubbing by fifty percent.


In beer processing, utilizing membrane filtration systems can  substantially minimize waste material produced, thus decreasing cost of disposal.


In packaging, the installation and use of a heat recovery process can generate savings of up to forty percent from keg cleaning. Furthermore, eighty-five percent of the heat can be  regained that  can  later be used for heating water.


In the Netherlands, a new process of cleaning and removing labels are being implemented. This involves the continuous cleaning by  caustic liquid via a Rehman filter which cleans the bottle and removes entirely the label. This kind of cleaning requires liquid to be  changed only once per year. Steam sterilizes the bottle which forces the air out, thus energy that was supposed to be used for the vacuum stage is saved


Combining productive technologies with efficient process controls can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, minimize waste materials, conserve energy and water, and can trim down the total operating  costs  thus the investment’s productivity is much improved.


 



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