FEATURE TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY & MOISTURE CONTROL
35th Anniversary
STEAM SUITS DISTILLERY STILL SYSTEM S
A boiler from Fulton is providing manageable and controllable steam for use by a London distillery
ipsmith Distillery is a small, independent business that uses a copper still to craft artisanal gins and vodkas. The distillery gives female names to each of its stills and the first, Prudence, originally used electricity to power elements in the steam jacket surrounding it. But, as Sipsmith’s export market grew and production increased, the founders realised additional stills were required to meet demand. The company’s second still, named Patience, is another 300l still that also used electric elements to heat the steam jacket. But it wasn’t until a third and larger still – the 1,500l Constance – was required that the company decided to switch from an electrically-heated process to one using a steam boiler. Doug Howarth, marketing manager at
Fulton, said: “We visited Sipsmith Distillery when they were using German electrically-powered stills but wanted to install a gas-fired steam boiler for their new, larger premises. Our area manager discussed the specifications and options with them and an order was subsequently placed for a Fulton 20J vertical boiler and associated ancillaries. We continued to provide assistance and technical support throughout the installation and during commissioning.” Many craft breweries and distilleries start off using electric but, as they reach
the right size and output, move to steam-based systems such as those from Fulton. “While electric systems can be quite efficient, they only heat the water required for the steam jacket, so are not as manageable or controllable as steam boiler based systems.” said Howarth. Felix James, Head of Operations at
Sipsmith Distillery, said: “For us, the difference is the same as cooking using electric or gas. Prudence and Patience both used electric elements initially but, to control the water temperature, you could only switch on or off the four elements in the steam jacket. And then there would be a delayed response as it would take time to transfer the energy through to the stills. With steam, once it’s turned down or off, the stills are very quick to shut down or respond to the temperature change.” He went on to say that unlike ‘big plant’ distillation processes that can produce a spirit in less than two hours, each Sipsmith gin or vodka distilling process takes up to eight or nine hours to complete. Steam from the Fulton 20J boiler is gradually introduced into the still’s steam jacket until the alcoholic wash inside the still reaches 78.3˚C, the boiling point of alcohol. As the wash boils and turns to vapour, it rises through the still’s helmet and swan’s neck before returning to
With a steam based boiler system, once it’s turned down or off, the stills are very quick to shut down or respond to the temperature change
Examples of Sipsmith’s gins and vodkas
liquid form in the condenser. After the initial ‘heads’ cut (containing methanol) and the final ‘tails’ cut are disposed of, the 1,500l Constance produces approximately 950l at still strength (82% for the gin and 90% for the vodka). This distilled liquid is then cut with water to create a bottling strength product that produces up to 2,500 bottles. Explaining the reasons for specifying
FASTER SET-UP THANKS TO SIMPLIFIED MENU
West Control Solutions has launched MAXVU – a compact controller that can be set up in one minute. Faster set-up is possible because the start-up configuration menu only shows the most vital parameters including sensor types, units, outputs, alarms and setpoint values, removing time spent scrolling through unnecessary options. MAXVU is suitable for packaging tray and bag sealers, textiles applications (such as seam sealing and thermal bonding) and processes in the food and beverage sector including fryers, micro-breweries and chocolate tempering. Ian Collins, product manager and strategic account manager, West Controls Solutions, said: “Over-specifying temperature controllers can cause unnecessary expense at initial purchase and, more significantly, a waste of resources in terms of set-up time and ongoing operation. By limiting the parameters that need to be set, MAXVU simplifies configuration and increases efficiency for simple temperature control requirements.” MAXVU’s ease-of-use is supported by its large
display. A height of 18mm for upper digits and 10.2mm for lower digit height is possible in a 48mm high device. The larger digits offer increased clarity and visibility. A 96x48mm unit is also available with 18mm digits upper and lower. Installation and set-up is simplified by the compactness of the device and a side
configuration port which allows users to connect to the wizard-driven PC configuration software. West Control Solutions
T: 01273 810116
www.west-cs.co.uk Enter 216
Fulton, James said: “Fulton are very well respected and, being a UK manufacturer, are very easy to deal with. We undertake our own water analysis every month but do have a service contract with Fulton, which visits the site every three months to conduct its own analysis and check the condition of the boiler and the system. This proved invaluable on one occasion when, between Fulton visits, we had dosed too much chemical into the feed water tank. However, Fulton was on hand, its technician was very helpful and offered the correct procedure for a solution.” An additional benefit for the
distillery is that all condensate from the boiler’s steam raising process is returned to the feed tank to reduce energy. Looking to the future, James said that with the Fulton boiler only being used to raise steam at 0.7 bar for the process, there is
plenty of scope for expansion when the time comes to further increase production capacity.
Fulton
T: 0117 972 3322
www.fulton.co.uk
18 JUNE 2015 | PROCESS & CONTROL Enter 217 / PROCESS&CONTROL
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