Cleaning Agents Of The Beer Brewing Equipment

Today let’s talk about the cleaning of brewery equipment. We all know that the cleaning agent is the main factor affecting the cleaning effect. A good cleaning agent should be: easily soluble in water; easy to clean; does not react with the salt in the water; no corrosion of raw materials; low cost; easy to use; little pollution to the environment, etc.

1. Alkaline cleaning agent
   Commonly used are sodium hydroxide and sodium phosphate.
   Sodium hydroxide is a strong alkali, can be a solid, liquid. It is the basis of most cleaning agents and has strong corrosion resistance. It is the basis of most cleaning agents, generally fortified with a concentration of about 1.5-2%, and also has a bactericidal effect. Sodium hydroxide liquid can be added to the surfactant, reduce the surface tension of water, penetrate into the dirt and make it fall off.
   Sodium phosphate whose aqueous solution is alkaline, can corrode aluminum and tin. It is not good for our environment, because it includes phosphorus.
2. Acidic cleaning agents
   Acidic cleaning agents generally include sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid and various organic acids. Please do not use hydrochloric acid because it will corrode stainless steel. The acid may remove beer stone, etc. Generally, dilute nitric acid or phosphoric acid (0.5-1%).

Organic acids are less corrosive compared to nitric acid. They are environmentally friendly cleaners, but cost more.