Reducción de extracto de últimas aguas en un proceso de elaboración de cerveza

Abstract

Industrial beer production uses malted grains as the primary raw material for brewing multiple batches. This project was developed with the purpose of decreasing the loss of malt extract present in the wastewater known as "last running," generated during the filtration stage of the industrial brewing process. The initial objective was to reduce the kilograms of wasted extract by 11.15% for each batch of 100% malt beer. To achieve this, the DMAIC methodology (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) was implemented, allowing for the precise identification of the root causes of this loss. To reach the project’s goal, three main solutions were implemented and quantified: the optimization of the entry sequence to the filtration stage, the standardization of milling quality through corrective maintenance of the mill, and a factorial design of experiments to optimize water flow and volume parameters. Following the implementation of these solutions, an 11.76% improvement in extract loss reduction per brew was recorded, surpassing the established target. Keywords: Filtration, Beer, Lean Six Sigma, Last running, Extract.