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Simulation of vacuum distillation to produce alcohol‐free beer
Author(s) -
Horácio Priscila S.,
Veiga Bruno A.,
Luz Luiz F.,
Levek Caio A.,
Souza Ariádine R.,
Scheer Agnes P.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the institute of brewing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.523
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 2050-0416
pISSN - 0046-9750
DOI - 10.1002/jib.591
Subject(s) - brewing , chemistry , vacuum distillation , isobutanol , distillation , isoamyl alcohol , isoamyl acetate , acetaldehyde , batch distillation , alcohol , aroma , flavour , ethanol , ethyl acetate , chromatography , fusel alcohol , methyl acetate , process (computing) , butanol , organic chemistry , fractional distillation , fermentation , methanol , food science , computer science , operating system
Several processes have been developed for producing alcohol‐free beer while maintaining desirable sensory characteristics. One of the most popular thermal processes used is distillation, where not only ethanol but volatile aromatic components are partly or completely removed from the beer. Based on data from the literature and using the Aspen Plus simulator, this study evaluates and compares the aroma profiles of alcohol‐free beers obtained by continuous vacuum distillation with different pressures and processes. Three processes were simulated at pressures of 60, 102, and 200 mbar. The first (Process A) was a standard continuous vacuum distillation, where the bottom product was an alcohol‐free beer. In the second (Process B), the bottom product was blended with a standard beer that had not undergone any thermal process. In the third (Process C), part of the top stream was mixed with the bottom product. This study considered eight major compounds in beer: ethanol, propanol, isobutanol, 2‐methyl‐1‐butanol, 3‐methyl‐1‐butanol, ethyl acetate, diacetyl and isoamyl acetate. The three simulated pressure ranges showed similar results, indicating that reducing the pressure below 200 mbar did not improve separation. Further, vacuum distillation did not remove diacetyl from the beer. Processes B and C resulted in beer that was richer in flavour compounds. Furthermore, when these processes were compared to Process A, the concentration of esters was markedly higher. © 2019 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling