An investigation into the possible use of hydrocyclones for the removal of yeast from beer.

Abstract

This investigation has focused on the importance of hydrocyclone design and running conditions for the removal of yeast from suspensions. Experiments have been carried out using both a model system of yeast grown in suspension cultures and rough beer. It appeared that the most important factor was the design of the hydrocyclone with a positive correlation between higher residence times and acceleration with the efficiency of separation. The other factor that affected the separation efficiency was the concentration of the yeast suspension and a new phenomenon of a lower efficiency of hydrocyclones at very low feed concentrations has been observed. The separation efficiency was also affected by temperature with lower temperatures giving poorer separations.