How nitrogen gas generators can help improve brewery efficiencies?

Nitrogen is created by separating the nitrogen molecules from other gas molecules and particles in a clean, dry compressed air stream. This results in a pure supply of nitrogen that can be used in a variety of industrial processes; with the leading one being nitrogen generators for the beer system. For these applications, ultra-pure nitrogen must be used. This is nitrogen that has a purity level of 97% to 99.9% in total.

Read on to find out more about nitrogen gas generators and how they can be employed by breweries to improve the overall efficiency and performance of their beer system.

What is a nitrogen gas generator

Investing in a nitrogen gas generator is a simple and straightforward way to regularly produce low-cost nitrogen, on-site at your facility. It is significantly more cost-effective than purchasing individually filled nitrogen cylinders.

There are two main types of nitrogen gas generators that help you to cut the costs of manufacturing nitrogen on-site at your production facility, which can have significant benefits for brewery applications.

The first of these two options is a membrane nitrogen generator which works by compressing atmospheric air and passing it through a hollow fibre membrane to filter out particles of air that leaves behind a high-purity nitrogen gas.

The second of these two nitrogen gas generator options is pressure swing absorption (PSA) which is similar to a membrane nitrogen generator but instead, the air passes through a carbon molecular sieve which allows only small nitrogen molecules to pass through, whilst the larger ones are absorbed. This results in high-purity nitrogen.

Why use a Nitrogen generator for a beer system?

You will find that a Nitrogen generator is commonly used for beer systems, from craft beers to large-scale production. This is because of its inert characteristics that allow nitrogen to purge tanks of any leftover residue from the wort, beer and mash. Purging a tank with nitrogen eliminates the chance of any residual ingredients being left in the tank to oxidise, which could make subsequent tanks taste off and sour.

Another key benefit of nitrogen in the brewing process is that nitrogen is capable of displacing oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air, which means that nitrogen can be used to transfer beer through different tanks in the brewing process.

Nitrogen is also used to pressurise kegs and bottles once the beer is used, prolonging the freshness of the beer.

Why is a nitrogen gas generator better than a gas cylinder?

In applications that require large quantities of nitrogen gas, such as brewing applications, nitrogen cylinders are likely to be used quite frequently and consumed rapidly. This will create a need for manual switches to new cylinders which require extra manpower. Additionally, you will need to find a location to store the nitrogen cylinders. This can be a problem in areas with limited space.

However, by moving to a nitrogen gas generator, you will not only vastly reduce the lifetime cost of your nitrogen gas supply due to the fluctuating cost of nitrogen that can lead to inflated costs, but you will also reduce the need for storage space.

All in all, nitrogen gas generators provide a significantly more convenient, reliable and cost-effective solution than cylinders.

Improve efficiency with nitrogen gas generators

By investing in a nitrogen gas generator for your beer system on-site rather than purchasing large supplies of pressurised nitrogen gas bottles, not only can you reduce the amount of space being used within your brewery for storage, but you can also vastly improve the efficiency of your staff by reducing the need to physically change nitrogen gas bottles. Therefore, saving costly working hours!

Our expert team are on hand to help you design and install a nitrogen gas generator solution. Not only this, but Glaston also offers maintenance contracts, which we recommend should take place every six months. To find out more about nitrogen gas generators and the options available to you from a range of nitrogen generator manufacturers, contact us now and speak to a member of our helpful team.