Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Buildup on Tank Ports

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Buildup on Tank Ports

    Hey guys,

    We've noticed this buildup on a few of our year old tanks and haven't had any success in removing it. We've used PBW, caustic, and acid cycles on they as well as hitting it with some brushes and nothing seems to improve it much. Curious if anyone would happen to know what this may be or having any thoughts on how to remove it? Anything would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks!

    Ben

    Click image for larger version

Name:	Screen Shot 2021-01-19 at 10.46.49 AM.png
Views:	353
Size:	108.2 KB
ID:	305020Click image for larger version

Name:	Screen Shot 2021-01-19 at 10.46.39 AM.png
Views:	296
Size:	109.1 KB
ID:	305021Click image for larger version

Name:	Screen Shot 2021-01-19 at 10.46.24 AM.png
Views:	329
Size:	110.0 KB
ID:	305022

  • #2
    Dear Ben,

    I have a few questions for you:
    - When you touch the surface, can you feel something or is it very smooth? Could be a chlorobutyl rubber, which is frequently used for beer hoses.
    - Did you use the clarification agent silica sol? If overdosed and settles out it can dry on and is almost impossible to be removed.
    - Do you have a water analysis? How hard is it and does it contain silica?
    - The tanks have been properly passivated?
    - Even a manually applied chemical did not change anything?

    When running a CIP please ensure there is enough liquid in the bottom of the cone of the tank that the pump is not pulling air with the cleaning solution.
    Take a small amount of a bit stronger acid solution and apply it a small area to see if anything happens. The same with caustic. This way we are able to find out what type of fouling material it is (inorganic or organic).

    Thank you in advance for the answers to my questions.
    Zee Loeffler
    888-484-6248 (US & Canada only)
    www.loefflerchemical.com
    Oliver.meinhold@vincitgroup.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Oliver,

      Thanks for the response and questions. In regards to those questions:

      -You can feel something when touching the surface. It's slightly rough and raised compared to the surrounding material.
      -We don't use any silica with our production
      -We have had our water analyzed and it's very soft with low levels if any of silica
      -The tanks have all been properly passivated
      -We've run general tank CIPs as well as manual CIPs with several different chemicals and haven't seen any real changes

      We've used both the stronger caustic and acid solutions and it seems that neither had any real impact on it. We also tried PBW without luck as well.

      It seems to only be affecting mainly two of our tanks which mainly have been used for our sour beers which have a lower pH, usually around 3.40-3.45, which I'm not sure would have an impact but trying to think of all the variables.

      Thank you for the help on this, your input is extremely appreciated.

      Ben

      Comment


      • #4
        It sure looks like calcium oxalate (beer stone) if you ask me. I can’t say I’ve seen organic material that remains whitish after caustic or acid.

        If you’re saying that it’s rough and sticks off the surface, this sounds like mineral buildup. I’m sure the lower pH has accelerated the precipitation.

        Try a hydroflouric acid (ScaleBreak-SS or similar) if you are wanting to spot treat these buildups. Then run stronger/more frequent nitric/phos acid cycles when doing CIP to try and prevent the buildup from occurring.

        Other options would be to soak/cycle for an extended period (hours) with the nitric/phos, or to use CIP booster (H2O2) in your cycles, or to try an acid/no rinse/metasilicate (nitric/phos, no rinse, PBW) and then spray it off.

        Comment


        • #5
          Agree - beer stone, and yes, this is quite typical of colour, depending I think, to a large extent on how long the beer has been in contact, i.e. stored, and the colour of the beer, and yeast / debris content which can settle on those areas.

          One point not covered is that beer stone is particularly hard to remove if you are not cleaning with highly turbulent flow, so tends to accumulate in the bottom of vessels and in pipe cleaned at less than or only just 1.5 metres / sec.

          I suggest you also check you grist calcium level - an increase will help (but note help only) to prevent it forming, and you may also want to get your CIP water profile checked against the detergent you are using. Detergents are not generally formulated to cope with hard water areas. I know of at least a couple of UK based suppliers who will add additional sequestrants if you are in a hard water area, to help prevent this forming, so am sure if you ask your supplier......
          dick

          Comment

          Working...
          X