EA022601B1 - Method and device for the thermal treatment of kvass wort - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the thermal treatment of kvass wort or kvass wort concentrate, and to a device, in particular for carrying out said method, wherein kvass wort is introduced into an overpressure cooking vessel and is heated, wherein an overpressure is set in the overpressure cooking vessel such that the kvass wort does not boil during the entire process.

Description

The invention relates to a method for heat treatment of kvass wort, in particular concentrate of kvass wort, and a device for implementing this method.

Kvass is a very ancient drink, which is traditionally prepared from bread, cereals, malt and sugar and to which other products of plant origin are often added. Fermentation in most cases is carried out by a mixed culture of yeast and lactic acid bacteria, so that the resulting drink containing carbon dioxide has a noticeably sour taste and at the same time contains a small amount of alcohol. Useful action for the body has been attributed to kvass for centuries, and in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of Eastern Europe it is considered one of the national drinks. In recent years, there has been an increase in the popularity of this traditional product, mainly in Russia and Ukraine.

To obtain a slightly burnt aroma, reminiscent of a crust of rye bread, kvass wort, in particular kvass wort concentrate, is often subjected to repeated heat treatment. This leads to the accumulation of flavor components, melanoidin products and additional coloring of the product.

In this case, heat treatment is carried out in special devices at a temperature of 100 to 130 ° C and, in most cases, lasts from 20 to 30 minutes.

Currently, there are three generally accepted methods for similar heat treatment of kvass wort concentrate:

The first traditional way.

In older evaporator systems, when the wort was preliminarily evaporated by increasing heat to increase the concentration, sometimes the subsequent boiling stage was included in the apparatus circuit for additional heat treatment of the concentrate. However, in modern evaporation plants, vacuum (or partial vacuum) is often used to reduce the energy consumption for evaporation, while the temperature of the product in the subsequent stages of evaporation is reduced. Therefore, in conditions of modern and economical production, when evaporated under vacuum, the concentrate cannot be boiled.

The second traditional way.

In this case, the concentrate, which in most cases is prepared in advance in modern vacuum apparatuses, is first placed in large boilers for pressure cooking. In most cases, boilers are equipped with electric or steam heating of the heated volume, and sometimes with a stirrer. After filling the boiler, the lid is closed and the concentrate is heated with the stirrer on. Upon completion of the boiling process, the boiler is depressurized and the hot concentrate is drained manually or pumped out. However, this process has significant drawbacks: boilers operate on the same principle as a cooking autoclave. Accordingly, when heated, part of the liquid (water) contained in the product evaporates, and the resulting (water) vapors increase the internal pressure in the boiler and, therefore, the boiling point of the product. Meanwhile, as a result of liquid evaporation, the product may burn on the inner wall of the container, especially if the water content in the product is small, as in the case of concentrates. This effect is often further enhanced by the fact that the initial temperature difference between the heating zone and the product is very significant, and coolants (electricity / steam) are used at constant power. Burning leads to product losses, and container cleaning is clearly more complicated and should be done more often. In addition, unwanted substances can form, some of which are even harmful to health (for example, furfural, acrylamide). Even when the pressure in the boiler is relieved, boiling can occur in the heating zone and / or on the inner walls of the vessel, which will lead to the same consequences.

The third traditional way.

In order to prevent or reduce burning of the concentrate, a third method of boiling the concentrate has been developed. For this, the concentrate is initially poured into open boilers. After that, hot steam is injected into the product through nozzles, which in most cases are distributed from the top to the bottom of the boiler, until the contents of the boiler boil and the desired temperature is reached. However, this method also has certain disadvantages. For example, the exact dosage of the water content in the finished product is practically impossible, since the size of the vapor bubbles, the number of bubbles and the time of their existence, as well as the physicochemical composition of the concentrate change during the process and, therefore, the ratio between the introduced and evaporated water is constantly changing. Moreover, the resulting inhomogeneity of the liquid product and local temperature peaks do not allow precise control of taste characteristics and the resulting ingredients. Another disadvantage is the removal of the necessary flavor components with steam. In the absence of a mechanism for the reuse of steam energy, high energy losses should also be expected. And, finally, here the product can also burn on nozzles and / or boiler walls.

Based on this situation, the present invention is to provide a method and device for reliable and technologically reproducible heat treatment of kvass wort, in particular kvass wort concentrate, and to reduce or eliminate the disadvantages of the traditional methods described above.

- 1,022,601

According to the present invention, this problem is solved using the characteristics of paragraphs. 1 and 9 of the formula.

For simplicity, the term kvass wort will often be used below, which, however, also includes kvass wort concentrate (K \ US) and / or other products, but mainly concentrates. In addition, the particular vessel in which reactions and preheating actually occur is referred to as a cooker or reactor, although the product is not boiled due to high pressure, and heating can be carried out outside the vessel.

According to the proposed method for the heat treatment of kvass wort or kvass wort concentrate, respectively, by increasing the pressure and the corresponding phase transition of the water contained in the product from a liquid state to a gaseous, kvass wort (K \ U) can be heated to high temperature without bringing the kvass wort ( K \ US) to a boil. Thus, ideally, boiling does not occur on the heating surface and the walls of the container, which means that the product does not burn.

Accordingly, production losses are reduced and equipment cleaning is facilitated. Moreover, due to this, cleaning intervals can be increased (the frequency with which cleaning should be performed).

In addition, apparently less undesirable reaction products are produced that are unhealthy, such as furfural and / or acrylamide.

Due to the fact that due to the high pressure only very little water evaporates from the concentrate, or it does not evaporate at all, the dry mass concentration of the concentrate does not change or does not change significantly. In this way, a standardized product can be made, which is important both for the sale and for the subsequent mixing of the concentrate.

In addition, preventing boiling reduces excessive bubble formation and reduces foaming of the product. Due to this, the dimensions or height of the container can be reduced.

The amount of energy that must be spent on reaching a given temperature is reduced, since there is no energy consumption for the phase transition. In addition, no energy and / or flavoring substances are removed from the system due to vaporization and vapor removal.

The proposed method provides the ability to quickly heat the contents of the boiler to extremely high temperatures, so that the corresponding processing time can be reduced, which increases the overall production efficiency, and also provides the ability to form and accumulate additional flavor components.

The pressure value to be set for a particular temperature or, for example, maximum temperature, is approximately determined by the water vapor pressure curve. During this process, the overpressure in the container and / or in the overall system is controlled so that at the selected temperature there is no phase transition of water (see Fig. 4).

It is especially effective if the product is preheated by means of one or more heat exchangers and / or heating devices before applying excess pressure to the container (cooking container). In this case, the preheating temperature should be chosen so that the temperature difference between the preheating and the desired reaction temperature (cooking of the product) is as low as possible (for example, preheating to 130 ° C; cooking at 135 ° C), however, it is preferable that these temperatures coincided (for example, preheating to 135 ° C and cooking the product or keeping it hot at a temperature of 135 ° C). To ensure that the product (water) will not boil during the process, it will be useful to increase the total pressure in the system in advance (i.e., for example, in the heat exchanger (s), heating device (s) and / or in the cooking vessel used and etc.), so that heating, filling, subsequent heat treatment, and / or evaporation and / or cooling of the product takes place without boiling (see Fig. 4). Preheating facilitates heat treatment in a pressure vessel (cooking vessel), since only a slight temperature difference must be overcome to achieve the desired maximum heating temperature in the reactor. In addition, this setup allows you to adjust the temperature so that additional heating of the product in the reactor is not required (for example, overheating to 137 ° C will require 20 minutes exposure to cool, for example, to 135 ° C). In addition, due to heating, the viscosity of the high-viscosity concentrate decreases so that filling and mixing and / or circulation in the closed system of the overpressure cooking vessel is facilitated. Due to the lower viscosity, mixing and / or circulation can be started immediately, which helps to better prevent burning of the concentrate. In addition, preheating can lead to a more uniform temperature distribution of the product. This improves the desired course of the reaction and can reduce the need for mixing and / or circulation efforts, or make them unnecessary.

Although preheating can also be accomplished using primary energy, another decisive advantage of preheating is the process of rational reuse of energy, preferably waste heat from another part of the production. Here, first of all, it is proposed to use the system’s own heat.

For example, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the waste heat that can be obtained by cooling the heat-treated concentrate can be used to preheat the next portion of the product. If the temperature difference between the preheating level and the cooled finished concentrate is insignificant, an energy transfer can be made especially easily between the inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger. This can increase overall production efficiency by reducing primary energy consumption and separating the apparatus of the present invention from other stages of production.

Mostly kvass wort is heated to a temperature of> 120 ° C, preferably> 130 ° C, as it turned out that many of the necessary flavoring components are formed at temperatures above 130 or above 140 ° C. With traditional methods, such temperatures could be obtained only in several zones of the vessel, for example, directly in the heating region or in vapor bubbles. The method of using the elevated pressure according to the present invention, however, allows you to heat the entire contents of the container to such high temperatures, without those problems that could arise due to burning. In this case, the heating of the concentrate can be carried out in front of and / or in the tank itself and in the recirculation lines.

Advantageously, the product is mixed and / or recycled at an overpressure in an appropriate pressure vessel (cooking vessel). This basically makes sense if the product is heated in a reactor and / or recirculation line. Here, mixing or recycling, respectively, mainly serves to uniformly heat the liquid and leads to the homogenization of the ingredients. In addition, this should prevent unwanted reactions such as burning.

In addition, it is preferable to maintain the set overpressure in the cooking vessel during the release of kvass wort (KAS) so that boiling does not occur during the release. Thus, even during draining, boiling on the hot walls of the container and in the heating zones can be avoided.

Preferably, kvass wort (KAS) discharged from the pressure vessel (cooking vessel) is cooled using a heat exchanger (preferably tubular or plate). Unloading can be carried out by a pump and / or by using excess pressure created in the tank. In this case, the cooling temperature should be selected so that the further transfer of the cooled concentrate can be successfully carried out using a centrifugal pump (see Fig. 3). If the generated waste heat must be additionally used to preheat the next portion of kvass wort concentrate (KAS), the corresponding temperature difference between the product and the cooling or heating medium, respectively, as in the case of heating, should preferably be used so that the energy transfer is carried out as simple as possible way. If water is used as a heat carrier for such energy exchange, care should be taken to ensure that no phase transition occurs. Accordingly, the overpressure in the heat exchange system can also be adjusted. This overpressure, however, should preferably be lower than the overpressure in the product-containing system (the so-called positive pressure drop), to guarantee the safety of the product in case of leakage of the heat exchangers. If desired, however, other substances, preferably food-safe substances that have a phase transition at higher temperatures (for example, oil or glycerin), can be used as a coolant at atmospheric pressure. The use and / or recovery of waste heat energy for heating and / or cooling the product can increase the overall efficiency of the system. However, the use of energy exchange is not absolutely necessary. Heating and / or cooling at the inlet and / or outlet of the reactor can be carried out additionally or exclusively using primary energy (for example, steam and / or cold water).

The overpressure in the product containing system can be controlled, for example, during filling with kvass wort (CAS), by shutting off the gas outlet pipe (s) and / or by injecting gas and / or water vapor, and steam injection has the advantage that the system is being preheated. Inert gases, such as nitrogen or CO ₂ , in turn, have the advantage that no additional oxygen enters the product. This may, in turn, affect the reaction results in the product. In principle, if desired, the same and / or other overpressure can only be used in the reactor and / or in all subsequent parts of the installation, such as, for example, heat exchangers. In this case, the overpressure can either be created by processes in the system (for example, filling) and / or adjusted before, during or after the main reaction by additional processes (for example, injection of water vapor).

If the heating is to be carried out inside the reaction vessel and / or in the recirculation line, the heating should preferably be controlled in terms of productivity, in particular if it is necessary to overcome a significant temperature difference in order to reach the actually required temperature. In this case, the heating power of kvass wort (KAS) can be increased by increasing the temperature and / or time during which steam heating should be used. By increasing the preheating power, the difference between the temperature of the kvass must (KAS) in the pressure vessel (cooking vessel) and the temperature in the heating zone should be maintained so

- 3,022,601 as low as possible. This will allow the use of smooth heating in the reactor vessel. For heating, for example, steam heating with the so-called floating, or dynamic, flexible steam control can be used. If the preheating of the product is preferably carried out in such a way that the temperature difference to the desired temperature is very small or absent, you can do without executive control of heating if you wish. This may lower the cost of such an installation.

A device for implementing the proposed method contains a container under pressure (cooking) capacity, and heating means, which are located either upstream and / or in the reactor or in the recirculation line of the reactor. In addition, the system should include a closed-loop / open-loop pressure regulator and / or a temperature regulator, which can preferably be adjusted so that with the help of at least one actuator inside the pressure vessel (cooking vessel) to prevent boiling of the product.

The heat exchanger and / or the heating device are predominantly installed at the inlet of the overpressure vessel (cooking vessel) or placed in the recirculation device and are used to heat and / or keep the kvass wort concentrate (K \ US) in a hot state.

At the outlet of the overpressure cooking vessel, the heat exchanger is mainly used for cooling the product, where the waste heat of the heat exchanger located at the outlet can be effectively used as the heating energy of the heat exchanger at the inlet. In principle, for reasons of expediency, the same heat exchanger (s) in which the product has previously been heated can be used. If desired, however, additional devices may be provided specifically for cooling.

It is advisable that the overpressure cooking vessel be equipped with an agitator with a high pressure-resistant seal and / or a recirculation line with an appropriate pump. Preferably, the heating means located in the reactor (or the heating means located in the recirculation line) are arranged to use water vapor as a heat carrier with a controlled heat output, i.e., a heat carrier temperature, which can be controlled by varying the exposure time and / or the actual temperature. It is preferable, for example, to place special sensors inside the pressure vessel for monitoring pressure and temperature. As actuators for regulating the pressure, it is preferable to use valves that enable precise adjustment of the overpressure.

Moreover, the valves must ensure that a constant pressure is maintained, for example, when the product is drained. In addition, at least one vent valve must be installed so that excessive pressure can be relieved if necessary. In addition, a gas vent valve can be used, if necessary, to create an initial overpressure during tank filling, leaving the valve closed until the required overpressure is reached.

The proposed device, in particular, is used to heat and / or keep hot liquids or liquid concentrates. Due to this, some product enhancing ingredients, such as color and / or flavor components, must be formed or enriched. Moreover, sterilization, removal of undesirable components, suppression of the activity of catalysts (e.g. enzymes) and / or chemical conversion of certain ingredients can be carried out by appropriate heating of certain liquids and / or concentrates. The proposed device and method, in particular, are suitable for the heat treatment of beverage concentrates, but may have other applications, such as flavoring the produced product with meat, burnt sugar and / or caramel, wort cooking and sterilization of individual substances.

The present invention will be illustrated below in more detail with reference to the following drawings. In principle, the embodiments are intended to illustrate the invention, however, they should in no way be construed as limitations.

In FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the construction of an overpressure cooking vessel according to the present invention;

in FIG. 2 schematically shows a device according to the present invention with heat exchangers located at the inlet and at the outlet;

FIG. 2A shows an operation to fill the device schematically shown in FIG. 2; FIG. 2B shows a heat treatment in the device schematically represented in FIG. 2; FIG. 2C shows a draining operation from the device schematically represented in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 shows the temperature dependence of the viscosity of kvass wort concentrate;

in FIG. 4 is a phase diagram of water known from thermodynamics, illustrating the determination of the required pressure at the required temperature.

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus according to the present invention. The device includes an overpressure cooking vessel 1. The overpressure cooking vessel is essentially a cylindrical high-pressure vessel made of stainless steel. Preferably, the container is equipped with thermal insulation. For reasons of cost-effectiveness of the process, the concentrate is predominantly heated to obtain the taste and color of kvass wort due to its smaller volume and high concentration of ingredients. The overpressure cooking vessel 1 has an input / output 5 with a corresponding line in which, if desired, a pump 10 can be placed. While in this case only one input / output 5 is provided, the input and output could also be separate. The filling can also be carried out, for example, through the recirculation line and in the upper part of the tank.

In addition, the overpressure cooking vessel 1 can be additionally equipped with a stirrer 2, which is driven by an engine 4 and preferably has several vanes 13 on its axis. It is advisable that the axis of the stirrer has an eccentric arrangement for better mixing of the contents. The mixer 2 includes a seal resistant to high pressure 3, which is a sealing ring 3 with valves for the lines of filling and discharge of water (for washing with water). Therefore, high pressure can be used in the overpressure cooking vessel 1. The mixer can preferably be frequency controlled, for which the motor 4 can be connected to the control unit 90. Instead of the mixer or in addition to the mixer, homogenization and mixing can be carried out exclusively and / or optional recycling method. When recycling, it is advisable to select the concentrate at a lower point on the bottom of the tank and pour it into the upper part of the tank. Accordingly, in our example, valves 22 and 99 are open for recirculation, while valves 77 and 88 are closed. The recirculation is carried out, for example, by means of a pump 10 through the recirculation line and.

If necessary, before, during and / or after the process, and even further, if necessary, before, during and / or after the process, it is possible, for example, to add additives to the product and / or to carry out additional heat treatment of the product. Corresponding devices, fittings and devices, such as temperature regulators, dosing, measuring and / or actuating mechanisms, can be placed in various places and presented in the diagram as blocks (30).

Heating and / or preferably keeping the preheated product hot can be carried out, for example, in the heating zone 12 and / or additionally using a heating device 66, which can be placed in the recirculation line and. In our example, both heating means are embodied as steam heaters. The surfaces of the heat exchanger 12 are preferably located inside the tank 1 and, thus, are in direct contact with the product. In this embodiment, the heat exchanger preferably has an uneven surface and, in particular, has the appearance of thickenings on the walls. This type of installation can improve heat transfer, since pressure vessels in some areas have thick walls and, thus, heat transfer will increase, or, conversely, will deteriorate if the heating device is attached externally. In addition, due to the corrugated surface, better mixing and reduced pollution can be achieved. The heating means 66, which in our example are placed in the recirculation line and are preferably implemented as a double steam heating tube, a tubular and / or plate heat exchanger. Both of the heating devices presented here have a coolant supply line 15 (in this case water vapor) and a coolant (condensate) discharge line 16. An energy generator (in this case, a steam generator) is shown schematically as 17. In this embodiment, the heating means can additionally change the heat output. This means that thermal power can be increased, for example, by increasing the temperature or pressure of the coolant, in this case water vapor. Thermal power can be adjusted, for example, depending on the time and / or temperature of the product. So, for example, either a fixed program for thermal power can be set, or the temperature can be measured using temperature sensor 18, and then the thermal power, that is, the temperature of the steam, is regulated depending on the measured (preferably in the thickness of the product) temperature. The heating means, that is, in this case, the steam generator (s) is preferably also connected (s) to the control unit 90. Thus, it is allowed that, for example, when the product is heated, the thermal power can be increased so that the temperature difference ΔΤ between the zone heating and the product, if possible, remained insignificant throughout the entire process. Such floating or dynamic, flexible steam control will allow the use of smooth heating of the product. For heating, for example, steam heating with the so-called floating or dynamic, flexible steam control can be used. In particular, it is suitable for the case when the preliminary heating of the product was not carried out or was insignificant, and a high temperature difference (ΔΤ) to the specified temperature must be overcome. Constant-power heating devices in most cases are preferable if, after filling the reactor, only a small further heating (small ΔΤ) should be performed.

In addition, the overpressure cooking vessel in this case is equipped with a closed-loop / open-loop pressure regulator 9, which can be combined with the control unit 90. The closed-loop / open-loop pressure regulator 9 is configured so that using at least one automatic control mechanism inside the cooking tank

- 5 022601 pressure 1 maintain pressure so that the heated product does not boil. To create excess pressure, for example, a gas and steam line with a control valve 19 is provided. The line is connected to means for vaporization and / or supply of gas under pressure, for example nitrogen and / or CO ₂ . By opening the valve 19, the pressure inside the cooking vessel of the overpressure 1 can be increased and / or corrected. To regulate the pressure, a pressure sensor 8 may be provided in the cooking vessel 1, which may also be connected to a closed-loop / open-loop pressure regulator 9. Moreover, in the upper part of the tank 1, a pressure relief valve 20 is preferably located, connected to the steam outlet pipe by a line 11. The throttle valve is indicated by 23, and the pressure relief valve is indicated by 24. A vacuum shutter 25 is also provided in the discharge pipe 11. When the drain pipe 11 is closed (in particular by closing the control valves 20 and 23), the pressure in the container 1 can be increased due to the filling of the product for heating (and / or due to heating of the product). In our example, the valve 20 can also be controlled through a closed-loop / open-loop pressure regulator 9. In addition, the device may include a data entry device (not shown) with which various process parameters can be entered, such as, for example, the maximum heating temperature T1, ΔΤ, etc. In addition, for example, an appropriate pressure value can be introduced into the system, which is so great that the product in the tank 1 does not boil at the maximum adjusted temperature T1. This value can be approximately obtained, for example, from a diagram of water vapor [see FIG. 4]. In addition, you can enter only the corresponding maximum temperatures at which the corresponding pressure values will be determined by the control unit 90. Using dispersion comparison, for example, you can adjust the desired pressure during or before the heating process.

The creation of excess pressure in the tank before filling has the advantage that a high temperature (above the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure) can be set already in the inlet heat exchanger and / or other heating devices, without boiling and / or burning the product. Maintaining increased pressure and pumping out the pressure vessel with steam has the advantage that the vessel is preheated or remains heated, and the air is already adequately saturated with water, so that there is no (or very little) evaporation of water from the product during the process. Inert gases, such as nitrogen and CO ₂ , in turn, have the advantage that the product is not exposed to additional oxygen, which could affect the product in an undesirable way.

However, it is also possible to measure the temperature (for example, with the temperature sensor 18) and bring the pressure in accordance with the measured temperature (for example, using valves 19 and 20).

In FIG. 2 schematically shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which, for simplicity, the heating and cooling of the product are shown in two different heat exchangers. However, these processes can be successfully implemented in only one heat exchanger. In this case, the operating modes are almost identical, so this will not be discussed in more detail. In addition, for simplicity, pumps, valves, measuring and control mechanisms, as well as devices that regulate the heat exchange temperature, etc. are not presented here. As can be understood from the drawing, the heat exchanger 6, preferably a plate and / or tubular heat exchanger, can be connected in front of the overpressure tank (cooking tank) 1. Using this heat exchanger, for example, kvass wort or, accordingly, kvass wort concentrate (K \ US) heated up. For precise temperature control and / or, for example, further heating, another steam preheater 66 may be located at the outlet of the heat exchanger. This steam heating in a preferred embodiment of the invention is placed in the filling line, which can also be used as a recirculation line. In addition, at the outlet of the tank 1 is additionally located another heat exchanger 7, in which, for example, cool kvass wort or, accordingly, kvass wort concentrate (K \ US). after heat treatment in the tank 1. This heat exchanger can also be implemented as a plate and / or tubular heat exchanger. In order to increase the efficiency of the installation, here both heat exchangers are connected to each other using the so-called energy exchange line. Preferably, at least one coolant tank should be located in the line between the heat exchangers 6 and 7. If the goal is to practically block energy exchange, this tank should either be structurally divided into two separate and isolated parts, or, as shown in the drawing, preferably two separate and isolated tanks should be used. The coolant should preferably not undergo a phase transition, so that an appropriate overpressure must additionally be created in the energy exchange system (see Fig. 4). In order to compensate for energy losses that are caused, for example, by heat radiation, preferably at least one heating and / or temperature control device should be included in the energy exchange. For simplicity, however, this is neither shown graphically nor described in more detail in the subsequent text.

Energy exchange can reduce the demand for primary energy. This, first of all, makes sense when hot water is no longer required for the next steps of the process. Couple who

- 6 022601 is formed during the evaporation of the concentrate, in most cases it is enough to cover the needs of production enterprises in hot water, so the use of the proposed installation in many enterprises makes sense, although it is not absolutely necessary.

In FIG. 2A schematically shows in a simplified form the operation of filling the installation of FIG. 2. As can be seen from the drawing, preheating of the concentrate (KZhS), for example, from 65 to 130 ° C, can be carried out using a hot heat carrier by heating the product in the heat exchanger 6, for example, by reverse current. During this process, the coolant that was already in the preferably insulated tank X is cooled, for example, from 132 to 67 ° C. and is completely pumped into the insulated tank Υ. Before filling the container, the product having a temperature of 130 ° C is preferably heated with saturated steam to a predetermined temperature, for example 135 ° C, in the next heating device 66 located at the outlet of the heat exchanger. Then, a loading portion of the product is fed, if desired from above, into the pressure vessel 1 also under pressure. To prevent boiling and burning of the product, the entire system described here, even before filling, should preferably be under pressure so that the phase transition does not occur on the supply side of the product water contained in the product [see FIG. 4] (for example, 3.5 bar). This pressure must be maintained throughout the course of the process. The presented energy exchange should be designed for the corresponding temperature differences (and, of course, taking into account the amount of coolant, which should be temperature-controlled). A practically closed system, as presented in FIG. 2 preferably requires an almost identical temperature difference (ΔΤ) between the product and the heat transfer medium in both heat exchangers 6 and 7. If this is not the case, the heat transfer fluid must either be warmed up more or cooled, or part of the heat transfer fluid must be pumped out and / or replaced. In addition, one should not forget that in such a system heat losses always occur, which must be adequately compensated. As in the case of the product, with such a simple energy exchange, preferably no phase transition of the coolant should occur. To ensure this, it may make sense to increase the pressure of the coolant accordingly to prevent it from boiling. However, this overpressure should be lower than the overpressure in the product containing system (the so-called positive pressure drop) to prevent the coolant from entering the product in case of leakage of the heat exchangers. Since with increasing pressure in the heat transfer chain there is a tendency to increase the load on the equipment, if desired, you can choose another coolant that does not undergo a phase transition at such temperatures (for example, oil or glycerin). Preferably, however, it should be harmless to food.

After filling the [container] with the product, it is directly subjected to heat treatment, which preferably lasts from 5 to 40 minutes and should be carried out at such an excess pressure that the product does not begin to boil (for example, 3.5 bar). During this process, the concentrate (KZhS), mainly preheated, is maintained at and / or heated to a temperature of, for example, 135 ° C. For this, the high pressure vessel 1 should be at least thermally insulated and preferably equipped approximately as shown in FIG. 1. If desired, additional heating means, such as a heating jacket and / or a flow heat exchanger, can be used to heat the product to the desired temperature. The homogenization can be achieved, for example, by recycling the product and / or using a stirrer. The heat treatment process is shown in FIG. 2B in a simplified form.

After completion of the heat treatment, the concentrate is drained from the cooking vessel, which is shown schematically in FIG. 2C. During this procedure, the hot concentrate (CLC) is cooled in the heat exchanger 7 located at the outlet, in our example from 135 to 70 ° C. To prevent boiling of the product in the reaction vessel, an overpressure of 3.5 bar is constantly maintained, and this overpressure can be additionally used (separately or together with the pump) to drain the concentrate from the vessel. To cool the concentrate, the heat carrier is pumped, for example, by reverse current from tank Υ to tank X, while the heat carrier is heated in the heat exchanger 7 from 67 to 132 ° C. After that, you can process the next portion of the product in the same order.

Below, a method for heat treating kvass wort, in this case kvass wort concentrate (KVS), corresponding to the present invention, will be illustrated in more detail with reference to the drawings from FIG. 1 to 2C. Kvass wort concentrate, in particular, is produced by evaporation of previously produced kvass wort.

Leaven wort is produced in a known manner from raw materials such as rye, barley, wheat, corn, buckwheat, buckwheat, rice, rice products, potatoes, potato products, etc. The raw material, if desired, is first malted and / or ground. The method of producing kvass wort here essentially corresponds to the technological process of a brewery in the production of beer wort. In particular, during the mashing process, the feed is mixed with water. After this, the kvass wort is drained / filtered from the mash, after which the kvass must be boiled if desired and then concentrated, as mentioned above, that is, evaporated in a partial vacuum.

Kvass wort concentrate having a temperature of, for example, 40-90 ° C, is first served in the input

- 7 022601 heat exchanger 6, in which, in particular, it is heated under pressure to a temperature of from 50 to 140 ° C, preferably from 95 to 135 ° C. Due to heating, the viscosity of the high viscosity concentrate is reduced. The heated concentrate is then pumped, for example, through a recirculation line and, and, if necessary, using a pump 10 (Fig. 1), into a container 1 with the inlet valve 99 open (and the closed valves 22 and 88) until a certain filling level is reached, at where the remaining free space should be as small as possible. For this, for example, a level indicator not shown in the diagram may be installed in the container 1. Already during heating and filling, the corresponding overpressure in the system must be adjusted, for example, by means of a control valve 19, so that the water contained in the product does not begin to boil. During filling with the concentrate, the previously adjusted overpressure inside the container should preferably remain constant. To do this, after creating excessive pressure, the valve 19 is first closed. The increase in excess pressure that is formed as a result of filling the tank is then vented, for example, through valve 20. Another possibility of increasing pressure before the product is heat treated is to stop the gas outlet through all the corresponding valves until the required filling pressure is created. This option, however, is not preferred, since preheating to temperatures above 100 ° C cannot be carried out without boiling. All the valves necessary for the process can be controlled, for example, via the closed-loop / open-loop pressure regulator 9 or by using the control unit 90. When a sufficient amount of concentrate is pumped into the tank 1, the valve 77 can be closed and the valve 22 open. Now the contents of the tank can be additionally bypassed through the recirculation line and. In this case, the product can, for example, be maintained at a given temperature or heated accordingly by controlling the heating zone and / or the flow heat exchanger 66. For this, the steam supply lines 15 connected to the steam generator 17 and the steam discharge lines 16 respectively open or close and / or adjust the appropriate pressure or temperature accordingly. In addition, dynamic steam control is carried out here. This means that in this case, the thermal power increases with heating depending on the exposure time and / or depending on the temperature of the contents of the container 1 measured by the temperature sensor 18. Thus, it is possible to ensure that the temperature difference ΔΤ between the kvass wort concentrate (KAS) in the tank 1 and the surface of the heating device 12 and / or 66, in particular, has become lower than 10 ° C. Since the concentrate is predominantly heated and therefore its viscosity decreases, the motor 4 of the mixer 2 can be controlled, and from the very beginning, using the control unit 90, so that the contents in the tank 1 are mixed in addition to recycling and / or exclusively. Thus, homogenization of the product and / or its smooth heating to a predetermined temperature can be ensured. Nevertheless, it is advisable not to heat leavened wort above 165 ° C.

After the formation of the desired colorants and / or aromatic substances and / or after the product reaches such sterility as possible, that is, after a predetermined time, in particular after 5-30 minutes, the concentrate from the tank 1 is drained. To do this, open the valve 22 in the drain line 5, through which the drain can be optionally carried out using a centrifugal pump and / or an established overpressure. For this, valve 99 is respectively closed and valve 88 is open. However, even during the discharge, it is important to maintain the overpressure in the container 1 so that the concentrate or water contained in the product does not boil or burn on the walls of the container 1. Therefore, it is preferable to discharge the contents of the container 1 by applying a gas pressure and / or steam by opening the valve 19.

The hot concentrate is subsequently cooled, for example, to 40-70 ° C using a heat exchanger 7 at the outlet of the tank 1 and sent for further processing or storage. As explained above, the waste heat generated during this process can, if desired, be used to preheat the next portion of the concentrate.

Instead of one heat exchanger located at the inlet of the reactor and another heat exchanger located at the outlet of the reactor, only one heat exchanger can be used in which the product is first heated and cooled after the reaction. This mode of operation provides, in addition to economic and environmental advantages, the advantage that deposits are usually better removed by changing the direction of flow. If only one heat exchanger is used, it is necessary to pay special attention to the fact that heating as well as cooling are always carried out in the same way (that is, both by direct or reverse heat carrier flow). In order to keep the temperature difference (ΔΤ) during heating / cooling as small as possible, the reverse current mode of operation should be preferred to direct-flow.

In FIG. Figure 3 shows a diagram that was obtained experimentally for kvass wort concentrate. Here, time is plotted along the X axis, and viscosity, mixing speed, and temperature are plotted along the оси axis. The diagram was obtained using a so-called rotation viscometer. A certain amount of concentrate is poured into the apparatus and the product is mixed at a constant speed. The viscosity of the product can be calculated automatically based on the known resistance to mixing.

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With increasing temperature of the product, the viscosity and, consequently, the resistance to stirring accordingly changes over time. The diagram presented can be used, for example, to determine what the temperature of the product should be so that it can be pumped by a centrifugal pump. If the pump manufacturer claims, for example, that its pumps operate without problems only up to 1500 mPs-s, the temperature of the product should be at least 60 ° C or higher.

FIG. 4 illustrates the phase transition of water. It is seen that the phase transition of pure water from a liquid state (water) to a gaseous (water vapor) under atmospheric conditions (pressure 1 bar) occurs at 100 ° C. At a pressure of about 2.7 bar, this phase transition occurs at a temperature of about 130 ° C. However, since the phase transition of the water contained in the product in accordance with the present invention should not occur, the pressure in the system should be selected so that the phase transition cannot occur at all, for example 3.2 bar.

However, the device proposed according to the present invention is suitable not only for heat treatment of kvass wort concentrate (KAUS), but also for the processing of other concentrates (drinks), which have a high viscosity and / or easily burn. The device, in particular, is also suitable for the production of flavorings and / or colorants in the food industry. For example, you can imagine the use of the proposed device to give the product a taste of meat, burnt sugar, caramel, etc. The device can also be used to sterilize sensitive products, such as syrup, which, for example, may contain heat-resistant spores. High pressure heating of the wort and / or other semi-finished or finished products is also possible with such a device. For example, beer wort can be heated to such an extent that it becomes sterile very quickly, hop isomerizes and enzymes inactivate. After this chemical reaction, undesirable aromatic substances from the wort can then be evaporated, for example, by lowering the pressure below the boiling point or, if necessary, also at lower temperatures.

Claims (16)

CLAIM 1. The method of heat treatment of kvass wort, in particular, in the form of kvass wort concentrate (K ^ C), characterized in that a portion of the product is fed into the container (1) under excessive pressure, and heated, and the specified excess pressure in the container ( 1) regulate by means of an open circuit / closed loop pressure regulator so that the heated kvass wort does not boil, and the kvass wort (CAUS) is generally heated to a temperature of> 130 ° C. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the kvass wort (KAUS) before being introduced into the container under excessive pressure, is preheated, preferably to a temperature of from 95 to 140 ° C. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the leaven wort (K ^ C) is generally heated to a temperature of> 140 ° C. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that during heating the kvass wort is stirred and / or the kvass wort is circulated. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that in the process of releasing kvass wort in an overpressure tank, an overpressure is maintained. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the kvass wort discharged from the overpressure tank (1) is cooled using a heat exchanger. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the waste heat generated during the cooling of the concentrate is used to preheat the next (s) portion (s) of kvass wort (K ^ C) or to heat up on others production sites. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the adjustment of the overpressure when pouring kvass wort (KAUS) is carried out by closing the bypass gas pipeline (11) and / or by injecting gas and / or water vapor. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the heating power can be changed, in particular, the heating power is increased during the heating of the kvass wort depending on the temperature of the kvass wort and / or on time, in particular, steam heating 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the heating power of the heating means is changed by using steam in the heating means as a heat carrier, wherein the heating power is adjusted depending on the heating time and / or on the temperature of the contents. 11. A device for the heat treatment of kvass wort for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the device comprises an overpressure tank (1); heating means (6, 12 and / or 66) and an open circuit / closed loop pressure regulator (9) for regulating the overpressure in the overpressure cooking vessel by means of at least one actuator (19, 20) so that the heated contents are not boils, and the means of heating include an upstream heat exchanger (6) for preheating, placed in front of the overpressure tank (1); and another downstream heat exchanger (7) for cooling, located downstream of the tank (1). 12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that the heat exchanger (7) located downstream, and the heat exchanger (6) located upstream, are interconnected to use the waste heat from the heat exchanger (7) as thermal energy in heat exchanger (6). 13. The device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that it contains a stirrer (2, 4) with a seal resistant to high pressure (3). 14. Device according to any one of paragraphs. 11-13, characterized in that it contains the recirculation line (s) with the appropriate pump (10). 15. A device according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that a pressure sensor (8) and a temperature sensor (18) are placed in the cooking vessel (1) under excessive pressure. 16. A device according to any one of Claims 11-15, characterized in that it contains, as an actuator, a valve (19) for generating pressure in the cooking vessel (1) of an overpressure by using an overpressure of gas and / or steam and / or at least measure one exhaust gas valve (20).