Brewery Level control to EHEDG hygienic standards

Innovation in level measurement - Up to now, sectors like the brewing industry have mainly used ultrasound sensors with direct product contact to determine the contents in pressure tanks, fermentation tanks and storage tanks. For around a year now, Siemens has offered the Sitrans LR250 HEA (Hygienic Encapsulated Antenna), a radar level transmitter that determines the contents of the tank without coming into contact with the product. It has therefore become the first radar level transmitter to be certified as aseptic in accordance with the strict rules of the EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group). Prior to market introduction, a host of tests were carried out at the research brewery of the Technical University of Munich in Weihenstephan, Bavaria.

The brewing industry faces a host of challenges today. On the one hand, the number of different beer styles, and thus also bottle types, is increasing more and more. On the other hand, fierce competition is ratcheting up cost pressures. Added to this are the strict conditions of the EHEDG Aseptic, which controls hygiene measures in the manufacture and packaging of foodstuffs. This includes precise determination of the contents of pressure tanks before bottling, as well as the contents of fermentation and storage tanks.