764 Brewing: science and practice

15, 18, 20 or 24 bottles. Corrugated or plain cardboard is used and shrink-wrapping can
be added for final protection. The possibilities of multi-packing are almost endless. It is in
this area of the business that most expenditure on research and development is now made.
This is a very important part of the fight for brand supremacy.

Washing
This is a critical part of returnable bottling. Bottles return to breweries in various states,
they will be dirty and will still have labels attached. The labels may be made of paper or
metallized foils, which may contain tin or aluminium. Bottle cleaning must remove all
the labels, and clean and sterilize the bottles, which are then presented to the filler. This is
an aggressive operation and over time the bottles will become scuffed and unattractive.
This has been a problem in developed markets where the appearance of the package is so
important. This has led to the rise in popularity of the one-trip non-returnable bottle,
which can be decorated to a very high standard. This type of package, unless re-cycled, is
less environmentally acceptable than the returnable bottle.
Important factors in all bottle washers are:
· soaking to remove dirt and labels
· jetting to rinse
· temperature
· strength of detergent, which is normally alkaline.
The total time of the operation is normally 10±15 minutes. The sequence of operations
varies with different washers. A typical system is to soak the dirty bottles in hot water and
then pass them through a hot caustic soda solution. Bottles are then successively rinsed
with hot caustic solution, hot water, and finally cold fresh water. Bottles are transported
through the machine in rows of perhaps 50±70. The bottles are assembled in lines so that
they cannot fall over. Efforts are made to keep the noise as low as possible (< 85 dBA).
Propulsion is usually by a slat conveyor chain. In outline we have:
· Soaking. Residues of beer are drained at the first station in the machine (Fig. 21.2).
There is then usually a pre-soak at 35±40 ëC (95±105 ëF) to remove easily soluble dirt
and to pre-warm the bottles. The bottles are then immersed in a bath of caustic soda
solution (2.0 to 3.5%) at 75±85 ëC (165±185 ëF). Residence time is extended by
circulating the bottles in a series of loops. The caustic solution is then jetted over the
bottles to remove any remaining labels. The effluent solution from these operations is
very dirty and contaminated with micro-organisms.
· Rinsing/jetting. After soaking, the bottles are rinsed neck downwards several times
with hot caustic solution, hot water and cold water. The temperature of the caustic
solution is 45 ëC (115 ëF), the hot water is 35 ëC (95 ëF) and the cold water is 20±25 ëC
(68±77 ëF). The final fresh water rinse will be at around 15 ëC (60 ëF). Washers are
complex (Kunze, 1999).
· Label disposal. The major challenge of the operation is the removal of the soggy
mass of denatured label paper and foil. A label press is used to dewater the label pulp
by about 80% and the caustic solution residue is returned to the bottle washer.
Disposal of the `dry' pulp is not always easy; it usually goes to landfill or to
incineration.
· Detergent. The detergent is normally based on 1% w/v sodium hydroxide solution. It
must have good wetting power to penetrate the old labels and should not cause foam or
allow scale build-up. Microbes must be killed. Water with low temporary hardness
 Fresh
water

8
1 Pre-soak

2 Pre-jetting
Bottles out
4 3 Main caustic
7 6 5
2
Bottles in 4 Post caustic
1
3 5 Warm water 1

6 Warm water 2
Sewer
7 Cold water

8 Fresh water
Sewer Sewer To
sedimentation
tank

Crate Sewer Sieve cleaning

washer mechanism

Fig. 21.2 Bottle-washing machine (by courtesy of Krones).