Precise Carbon Dioxide CO2 Injection with Mass Flow Controllers

Precise mass flow control of carbon dioxide (CO₂) is an important part of creating high quality brews and beverages during the beverage production process. During the bottling process, beverage manufacturers should have the ability to control the precise quantity of carbon dioxide (CO₂) injected into their beverages.

As shown in Figure 1, mass flow controllers (MFCs) are used to control and regulate the quantity of CO₂ injected into the bottles during the filling and capping process in order to ensure uniformity of the product.

Figure 1. CO₂ Injection for the beverage industry

CO₂ Injection for Beverage Industry

Excess CO₂ in the beverage can lead to an overly carbonated beverage, and may break bottles, causing a loss of product and plant safety issue. While an insufficient CO₂ injection may cause the beverage to become “flat”. In both cases, the batch has to be tossed out, causing a loss of product which costs countless dollars in revenue to the company and ultimately hurts profit margins.

Many companies use volumetric flow and differential pressure devices for gas flow control for their CO₂ injection during the production process. However, due to the widely varying mass flow conditions encountered during the start-up and low production stages, volumetric flowmeters are not a suitable option for this application.

Direct mass flow using thermal mass flow controllers like the MaxTrak 180 mass flow controller (Figure 2), part of the SmartTrak family, consistently offers stable, smooth, repeatable, and accurate CO₂ gas mass flow control that users rely on. The gas mass flow control is unequivocal and direct, and it is not affected by pressure fluctuations and upstream gas temperature.

Figure 2. MaxTrak™ 180 Mass Flow Controller for CO₂ injection for the beverage industry

The MaxTrak 180 mass flow controller offers the robust and smooth mass flow control needed for the brew and beverage process industry, and it conforms to the industrial MFC requirements of NEMA 6 & IP7 ratings.

Key Features of MaxTrak™ 180 Mass Flow Controller

• Accuracy: +/- 1% of reading
• High accuracy: +/- 0.5% of reading
• Repeatability: +/- 0.2% of full scale
• Increase efficiency with true, digital high-performance
• Conforms to the industrial MFC requirements of NEMA 6 & IP7 ratings
• Configures up to 10 gasses with single instrument
• Makes adjustments in the field for time savings

This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Sierra Instruments.

For more information on this source, please visit Sierra Instruments.