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Procedural Investigations of the Lautering Process

Article  in  Chemical Engineering & Technology · August 2010

DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201000109

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 Lautering 1297

Johannes Tippmann1 Research Article

Hans Scheuren1
Jens Voigt1
Karl Sommer1
1
Lehrstuhl für
Verfahrenstechnik disperser
Systeme, Wissenschafts-
zentrum Weihenstephan,
Technische Universität
München, Freising, Germany.
Procedural Investigations of the Lautering
Process
Beer production begins in the brewhouse, where milled malt is mixed with water.
Relevant ingredients of the malt are converted and dissolved into wort. The solids
have to be separated from the remaining liquid. This step is done in the lauter
tun and is still a very time-consuming process. Additionally, the procedural
knowledge of this production step is still rather poor. Another aim in beer pro-
duction is the evaporation of unwanted aroma compounds. Usually this is done
during wort boiling. The latest research showed that the preliminary steps should
be done before boiling. The developed system is the result of these two principles,
evaporation of unwanted flavoring substances and prevention of blocking of the
filter cake. The approach was the integration of a bubble generator in the lauter
tun, which blows nitrogen bubbles (inert gas, not oxidizing) through the mash
and filter cake.

Keywords: Aromatic compounds, Filtration, Lautering

Received: March 15, 2010; revised: March 31, 2010; accepted: March 31, 2010
DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201000109

1 Theoretical Basic Knowledge about the pared for cooling down and start of fermentation which takes
Process of Beer Production three to seven days. A following maturation time of four to
twelve weeks is needed before the beer is completely finished
and ready to be drunk.
1.1 Processes of Beer Production

The process of beer production is divided into hot and cold

processes. After mechanical preparation of the malt (grinding),
beer production starts in the brewhouse when the ground malt
is mixed with water in the mash tun. Through a time-tempera-
ture program, relevant ingredients of the malt are converted
and dissolved from the malt into the liquid wort. After this
step, the solids have to be separated from the value-giving liquid
(Fig. 1). This separation is done in the lauter tun and is a very
time-consuming process (2 to 4 h). But, in general, a second sep-
aration method can be used for the lautering process. Besides
the lauter tun, mash filters become more and more popular.
After abscission of the spent grains from the wort, this fil-
trate is conveyed to the wort kettle where the final preparation
of the beer is prepared. Next to the isomerization of the hops
and sterilization, unwanted flavor compounds are removed by
evaporation. Boiling of the wort usually needs further time
and a lot of energy. After boiling, coagulated solids from pro-
teins and hops are removed in the whirlpool tank by the tea-
cup effect. When this separation is finished, the beer is pre-
– particles entering the cake. To ensure a constant flow rate, a
Correspondence: J. Tippmann (j.tippmann@lrz.tum.de), Lehrstuhl für
Verfahrenstechnik disperser Systeme, Wissenschaftszentrum Weihen-
stephan, Technische Universität München, Maximus-von-Imhof-
Forum 2, D-85354 Freising, Germany.
1.2 Lautering Process as Solid-Liquid Separation in
the Brewhouse
The lauter tun is a construction with two bottoms. Some centi-
meters above the regular flat bottom, a false bottom working
as a supporting sieve is installed and serves to retain the spent
grains. Thus, a filter cake with the husks is built and retains
the fine solids (proteins, residual starch, etc.).
Working with this plant, the lautering process follows a cer-
tain sequence: filling the lauter tun, sedimentation of the husks
and solids, filtration, and extraction. The lautering process is a
filtration which obviously follows the rule of Darcy within cer-
tain limits. The structure of the filter cake is very difficult be-
cause it is an inhomogeneous, multilayered filter cake with a
coarse coat in the lower part and a fine coat in the upper re-
gion (Fig. 2). During the process, the cake runs through differ-
ent heights. Especially during washing of the filter cake to gain
the whole extract, the flow is reduced because of the compress-
ibility of the filter cake and blocking, resulting from the fine
raking machine is used to loosen the filter bed and to reduce
the resistance of the filter. Naturally this allows a smaller
amount of fine particles to pass through and cause turbidity in
the liquid. Recirculation of the wort may be required. When

Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 8, 1297–1302 © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.cet-journal.com
1298 J. Tippmann et al.

lautering that way, the process has a

duration of usually 90 to 180 min [2].
The lautering process has several
characteristic parameters. Next to the
flow rate, the content of solids in the
filtrate is also defined in standards.
Manufacturers additionally recom-
mend a certain minimum and maxi-
mum load on the false bottom. Inter-
estingly, the procedural aspects are
scarcely investigated for this process
step and most of the lautering process-
es are results of “try and error”. But in
the recent years, the companies identi-
fied the great capacity of process engi-
neering for improvement in the brew-
house in general and first positive
Figure 1. Flow chart of beer production [1]. developments were launched.

1.3 State-of-the-Art of Separation Techniques in the

Brewhouse

Investigations provided lots of innovations which nearly all are

based on the traditional way of lautering. As an example, the
Pegasus lauter tun is shown in Fig. 3. This apparatus has an
open area in the center. Instead for filtration, this area is used
for technical installation. As a consequence, filtration problems
are reduced in this critical central zone [3].
Another method which has been established in brewhouses in
the last years, is the lautering process via a mash filter (Fig. 4).
Results of the work with this plant are better rates of yield and a
significantly faster lautering procedure. On the other hand, also
higher investment costs are the consequence [4].

Figure 2. Stratification of the layers in the lauter tun.

Figure 3. Pegasus lauter tun by Krones, Neutraubling and Freis- Figure 4. Flow chart of the TMC mash filter by Ziemann, Lud-
ing [3]. wigsburg [4]. (1) Filling, (2) lautering, and (3, 4) washing.

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1.4 Process Engineering in Beer Production
Technological investigations have shown that an acceleration
of the lautering process is possible in different ways. Kreisz [5]
was able to show that the operation of enzymes has positive ef-
fects on the composition of the mash which has in conse-
quence positive effects on the lautering process. The use of al-
ternative additives (e.g., rice or oat husks) has positive effects
due to a better stabilization of the filter cake, but according to
the German purity law, in Germany these are no applicable so-
lutions.
Current investigations at the institute show that deeper pro-
cedural understandings of the beer production processes en-
able to save time and energy considering the German purity
law from 1516. For the lauter tun this means that a deeper
knowledge of the behavior of the particles, filter cake, and par-
ticle interactions can result in a faster and better filtration per-
formance.
Investigations at the institute show that the characterization
of the draff cake is not done sufficiently up to now, but this is
an important prerequisite to understand the behavior of the
filter cake in the lauter tun in the right way.
1.5 (Re-)Creation of Aroma Compounds in the
Brewhouse
Due to the high temperatures during the production of wort,
unwanted aroma compounds are created in different amounts
depending on their way of creation. One of the most impor-
tant aroma compounds that have to be reduced during the
boiling of wort is dimethylsulfide (DMS). The most important
recreation mechanism of this flavor component is the thermal
degradation of its precursor S-methylmethionine (SMM) [6].
According to the law of Arrhenius [7], the velocity of a reac-
tion increases strongly with increasing temperature and vice
versa. Thus, a certain content of DMS is created during the
whole process in the brewhouse. But, the temperature during
mashing and lautering is not as high as during boiling. There-
fore, the formulation of DMS in the lauter tun is negligible.
1.6 Evaporation of Unwanted Flavor Compounds
Reducing the content of an aromatic component during lau-
tering means a thermodynamical separation process. The im-
pulse for this is the effort of the two-phase system for finding
the state of equilibrium between the liquid and the vapor
phase.
The vapor-liquid equilibrium state is reached, if all net flows
like heat and mass transfer are zero. In mathematical terms this
means that the pressure, the temperature, and the chemical
potential have the same value in both phases.
TV ˆ TL (1)
PV ˆ PL (2)
pVi ˆ pLi (3)
Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 8, 1297–1302 © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Lautering 1299
Eq. (3) describes the equilibrium between the vapor and the
liquid phase if the partial pressures are equal [8].
By combining the formulas of Dalton and Raoult the follow-
ing equation results:
yi P ˆ xi ci pSi (4)
This equation describes the correlation between the content
of a flavor component in a liquid, nonideal mixture (xi) to the
corresponding concentration in the steam (yi). The activity
coefficient ci is a dimensionless correction factor which de-
scribes the difference between an ideal and a real solution.
Of particular importance for vaporization of an unwanted
aromatic component during mashing and lautering is the very
low concentration area of an aromatic component in water or
wort. Concerning the researched substance, the concentration
range is between xi < 10–3 and xi < 10–5. Thus, this highly di-
luted solution is called infinite solution. DMS and other un-
wanted wort aroma compounds are found in such low concen-
trations. In a homogeneous mixture the solute molecules do
not interact with each other. There are only interactions be-
tween the molecules of water and of the aromatic substance or
just between water molecules [9]. The following scheme de-
scribes this state (Fig. 5).
By using this theory, a mixture consisting of one component
of a concentration close to 1 and other components of concen-
trations close to 0 can be simplified. Thus, the activity coeffi-
cient loses its dependency on the composition of a solution. In
this concentration range, the activity coefficient c8i depends
only on the temperature [11].
Introducing this simplification and defining a parameter, K8i
is called the distribution factor [8]:
pSi
Ki∞ ˆ c∞
i (5)
P
Another term for this parameter is “absolute volatility”. A
comparison of two distribution factors of the components i
and j, both solutes in the same medium, leads to the “relative
volatility” ai,j.
Ki∞
a∞
i;j ˆ (6)
Kj∞
These conditions are the basis for the prediction of vapori-
zation by vaporescence of aromatic components in infinite di-
lution during the mashing and lautering process. The process
can be calculated using the Rayleigh equation provided that
the inert gas bubbles are saturated:
 x  ∞1
i ai 1
DN ˆ 1 (7)
xi0
Figure 5. Concentration range called „infinite solution“ [10].
www.cet-journal.com
1300 J. Tippmann et al.

2 Experimental
2.1 Lauter Tun

For lautering experiments, the glass lauter tun of the

institute was used which is a cylindrical container
with a flat-conical bottom. The frame is made of
glass and has no insulation or heating jacket. The
diameter of the lauter tun is 390 mm and it has a
height of 500 mm. The maximum filling volume is
50 L of mash. The false bottom as the filter medium
of the lauter tun has an area of 0.12 m2 with a free
area of 7 % (brewers characterization of the false
bottom). The false bottom is sealed off with a rubber
gasket to prevent a flow between frame and false Figure 7. “Bubble bobble” system with the air pipes above the false bottom.
bottom. The outlet is connected to a tube with a ball
valve (Fig. 6). The mash for separation was a sus-
pension of 30 L water and 7.5 kg ground malt. For
mashing, a standard mashing procedure was used
to convert the starch into sugars. For analysis, the
extract, flow rate, turbidity, and DMS content were
measured.

2.2 New Tool for Improved Lautering

The idea was to prevent the blocking of the filter

cake and, at the same time, to evaporate unwanted
aroma compounds like DMS. To realize these two
effects, thin pipes with very fine openings were in-
tegrated in the lauter tun instead of the raking ma-
chine. Through these pipes, pure nitrogen (N2) Figure 8. “Bubble bobble” system with the air pipes between the two filter cake
was injected, creating fine bubbles. coats.
The pipes were placed at two different levels.
The first filter runs were done with the pipes di-
rectly above the false bottom, for the second filtration trials dough (compare Figs. 7 and 8). These brews were compared
the blowing device was lifted between the coarse and the fine with brews according to the regular process. During the lauter-
ing process, the ball valve was opened to the same degree. All
lautering processes were done for 50 min to get comparable re-
sults. All tests were done three-fold with a 95 % confidence
level.

3 Results
It was obvious that the filter cake gets another structure with
the blowing-in of the gas. First doubts that this method might
be harmful for the lautering performance and the whole pro-
cess, could not be confirmed (Fig. 9). The content of extract
was equal with all lautering trials. This was a first very impor-
tant point because the filtrate is the worth-giving product in
the process of beer production. Solids were analyzed according
to the method of MEBAK II 2.6 (brewers analysis) [12]. All
values were within levels recommended by brewers.
The further results show that the new lauter system with the
bubbles had the expected positive effects. In addition to a
higher flow rate, the content of DMS could be reduced signifi-
Figure 6. Glass lauter tun. cantly (Figs. 10 and 11). The consequence of gas injection

www.cet-journal.com © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 8, 1297–1302

Figure 9. Original gravity of the different lauter systems.
Figure 10. Total wort, flown through the filter cake within 50 min.
between the two dough layers was an in-
crease of up to 40 % of the volume, which
passed the filter cake in the preset time.
The positioning of the gas inlet above the
false bottom boosted the volume up to ap-
prox. 25 %. This means that the physical
effect is predominantly reached between
the filter cake layers.
The content of the unwanted DMS was
reduced in a significant way using the gas
inlet device. As Fig. 11 shows, in the tests
with the regular lautering system the DMS
content was equal all the time, but had a
tendency to rise. By blowing between the
layers, DMS could be reduced during the
lautering time in a significant way during
the process. The best results have been ob-
tained with the blowing device directly
above the false bottom. In these tests, the
last wort batch had a DMS content of zero.
It was possible to reduce significantly the
Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33, No. 8, 1297–1302
Lautering 1301
DMS content during the lautering process. The result
suggests that the reduction of DMS gets better the
more contact the gas bubbles have with the surround-
ing liquid.
4 Discussion and Prospective
While the DMS content of wort, obtained with a classi-
cal lauter tun, has a value between 150 and 600 lg/L, the
wort of the new system had contents between 10 and
100 lg/L, i.e., the needed boiling time in the next pro-
duction step can be reduced up to 50 %. The energy-
saving in this case is equal to the saving of an overall
evaporation of 3 %.
Calculating the benefit for economy and ecology, the
production of an applicable gas must be considered.
Regular pressed air is not suitable because of the oxi-
dizing capacity against the wort. Reasonable are types
of inert gases like nitrogen. This gas was won by an
air separator at the institute which produces nitrogen
with a quality of 99.9 %.
Another point is that the injection of cold gas has a
temperature loss of the wort in consequence. This will
change the viscosity of the liquid, thus the filtration is
affected in a negative way. To avoid such problems, the
gas has to be preheated. However, a collection of values
and calculations showed that both energy costs and
CO2 emissions could be reduced by using the new lau-
tering device. The reduction of the DMS content, mea-
sured in the trials, has a saving of 3 % of the overall
evaporation during wort boiling in consequence.
Taking a closer look at a brewery, which produces
100 000 hL a year and works with an overall evapora-
tion of 5 % during boiling, the saving could be signifi-
cant. Bearing in mind the costs for the production of
the inert gas (nitrogen) and assuming that the brewery
Figure 11. DMS content of the wort during the lautering process.
© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim www.cet-journal.com
 1302 J. Tippmann et al.

heats with oil, a reduction of 30 000 kg CO2 per year can be Greek symbols
obtained. As a consequence of these factors, the financial bene- ai,j relative volatility of the components i and j
fit is calculated to be 5000 per year. ci activity coefficient
After finishing the pilot plant tests, trials for a scale-up have ci8 activity coefficient in infinite dilution
been started. These tests are necessary to develop a retrofit de-
vice which fulfills all requirements on a big scale like in the test
plant. Additionally, the functionality of the device in the scale- References
up has to be proved. If this will be successful, breweries can
retrofit an efficient device into their lauter tuns. [1] Picture Database of the Deutscher Brauer-Bund e.V., Berlin.
www.bauer-bund.de
[2] L. Narziss, Die Technologie der Würzebereitung, Wiley-VCH,
Acknowledgement Weinheim 1992.
[3] Homepage of Krones AG, Neutraubling. www.krones.de
The authors like to thank the committee of the “Rudi-Eise- [4] Homepage of ZIEMANN Ludwigsburg GmbH, Ludwigsburg.
mann-Förderpreis” for financial support of the project. www.ziemann.de
[5] S. Kreisz, Ph.D. Thesis, Technical University of Munich 2003.
[6] C. J. Dickenson, J. Inst. Brew. 1979, 85, 235.
Symbols used [7] G. Lang, Reaktionskinetik Studienbücher Chemie, Diesterweg
Verlag, Frankfurt 1990.
DN [lg/L] content of aroma compound [8] J. Gmehling, B. Kolbe, Thermodynamik, Georg Thieme Ver-
Kj8 [–] distribution factor lag, Stuttgart 1992.
piL [–] chemical potential of the liquid [9] D. Gruber, M. Krummen, J. Gmehling, Chem. Eng. Technol.
piV [–] chemical potential of the vapor 1999, 22 (10), 827.
PL [bar] pressure of the liquid [10] M. Krummen, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Oldenburg 2002.
PV [bar] pressure of the vapor [11] P. Alessi, M. Fermeglia, I. Kikic, Fluid Phase Equib. 1991,
TL [K] temperature of the liquid 70 (2–3), 239.
TV [K] temperature of the vapor [12] Method Collection of the Mitteleuropäische Brautechnische
xi [lg/L] concentration of aroma Analysenkommision e.V. (MEBAK), Vol. II, 4th ed., MEBAK,
compound in liquid Freising 2002.
yi [lg/L] concentration of aroma
compound in vapor

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