NoAvarHava

Carbon Dioxide Polishers
for the Beverage Industry

www.Domnickhunter.com

Why choose a domnick hunter PCO2 system?
The PCO2 system is designed as a quality incident protection unit acting as a point of use vapour ‘polisher’ and is proven to be effective at removing a wide range of potential CO2 impurities. Recent improvements with on-site analysis equipment has shown that the traditional method of protecting the quality of the CO2 supply by means of passing the gas through an activated carbon vessel	alone cannot achieve the gas quality required. The domnick hunter five stage purification systems, installed in over 65 countries worldwide utilise multilayer gas purification technology. This is the industry preferred choice for CO2 polishing systems, offering quality incident protection against out of specification CO2 beverage gas.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is available as a colourless, odourless, non-combustible gas, a heavy, volatile colourless liquid or as a solid in the form of dry ice. In the beverage industry, CO2 is used to carbonate soft drinks, beers and wine as well as offering some protection against microbiological growth. CO2 is typically produced as a by-product from various processes including chemical manufacturing or combustion as well as collection from natural sources. Common sources of CO2 include hydrogen and ammonia production, fermentation and collection from geothermal wells. Prior to its use, the carbon dioxide must be purified before being considered suitable for it’s intended use as a direct food additive to the beverage. Potential contamination of a CO2 supply can occur as the result of natural impurities in the raw gas source not being effectively removed, or from gas contamination during storage and distribution. To ensure that the beverage it not tainted or does not take on any flavour defects due to CO2 impurities, Quality Guidelines for beverage grade CO2 are detailed in the following publications; International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT) “CO2 Quality Guidelines” Compressed Gas Association (CGA) “G-6.2 Commodity Specification for Carbon Dioxide” European Industrial Gases Association (EIGA) “Carbon Dioxide Sources, Certification, Quality Standards It is the responsibility of both the gas supplier and the user to take appropriate steps to ensure the quality of the carbon dioxide. Safety and good manufacturing practices for food additives should be applied throughout the process, from production, delivery, and storage to retail dispense.	Some potential contaminants are selected as indicators of the removal of certain classes of compounds. Others that are specified are of particular concern to the carbonated beverage manufacturers, as they are known to have a negative impact on the flavour and appearance of the beverage. Voluntary quality standards as listed in the ISBT Quality Guidelines are shown below. Nitrogen & Air Whilst originally developed for the purification of CO2 used in the beverage industry, the domnick hunter PCO2 system is also effective at removing trace levels of hydrocarbon contamination from a nitrogen or air stream. As part of the gas purification system, the PCO2 system can be used in a wide range of industries where the quality of the gas is critical i.e. life science research, bio-pharmaceutical, laboratory gases and electronics.

The Efficient Solution

In response to increased awareness of the impact on beverage characteristics that potential CO2 impurities can have, domnick hunter has developed a range of PCO2 carbon dioxide purifiers. Acting as vapour polishers, these are designed to bring ‘out of specification’ gas back to within beverage quality guidelines.
The PCO2 systems are designed to offer in-line quality incident protection against peak levels of trace contaminants that may occasionally be present in beverage grade carbon dioxide.
Potential CO2 impurities may be residual contaminants carried over from the feed source or could be introduced into the bulk liquid CO2 or gas cylinders from the distribution system. In either case, the domnick hunter PCO2 system offers added insurance against potential contamination of the beverage, thus avoiding potential costly product spoilage.
Under HACCP principles, the quality of CO2 used at the point of carbonation is defined as a Critical Control Point (CCP) and the installation of a PCO2 system at this point will form part of a complete CO2 quality approach.

This picture shows an MPlus 6000, 2722 kg/h (6000 lb/h) unit. In the background is the traditional carbon vessel that it replaced.
A typical bottling plant installation

The latest development in point of use CO2 polishing are disposable filters used to guarantee carbon dioxide quality at fountain dispense outlets. By removing potential CO2 impurities, the PCO2 filter will assure the dispensed beverage taste and appearance.

benefits are obvious

Added security of CO2 quality
Protection against impurities known to result in beverage flavour defects
Effective for removing a combination of potential contaminants
Low pressure drop
Easy maintenance, disposable cartridge design
Compact design 10 year housing guarantee
World-wide sales and support
Manufactured in accordance with ISO 9001:2000

PCO2 – High performance purification of carbon dioxide for the beverage industry.

Performance Verification

Comprehensive performance verification has been carried out using the test rig arrangement shown below. Testing comprised of setting an inlet contamination challenge by means of blending, in a set dilution ratio of specially prepared contaminated CO2 mixed with a clean supply.
The resultant gas mixture was then flowed through a PCO2 unit at a set pressure and flowrate with gas samples taken directly upstream and downstream of the unit. The samples were then analysed by an independent analytical laboratory to evaluate the unit’s efficiency at removing trace contaminants. Some of the results are shown in the graphs opposite.

Performance Verification Test Rig

In order to measure contaminants reliably at low concentrations, the following analytical methods were used.

Removal efficiencies

Below are some samples of the efficiency graphs for typical contaminants. Other graphs are available on request.

PCO2 - Designed for performance

The domnick hunter PCO2 polishing system offers five stages of CO2 purification in a compact, modular design to give the highest level of protection to the beverage industry. In addition to inlet and outlet particulate filtration, the plant scale Maxi and Mplus systems incorporate a unique 3-layer adsorption bed, pre-loaded into cartridges for ease of maintenance. The materials used have been carefully selected for their ability to preferentially adsorb potential contaminants, thus ensuring the optimum removal efficiency of the system during its operational life.
This proven five stage technology has also been utilised in the design of smaller point of use polishers used to offer protection against potential CO2 contamination in retail dispense applications.

	Suitable for installation in retail outlet cellar applications. Easy installation, quick release. Fully sealed tamperproof design. Integrated absolute rated membrane filtration. 12 months service interval. Disposable design made from food grade polypropylene.
	Available in flow capacities up to 4,537 kg/h (10,000 lb/h) Flow capacities above 4,537 kg/h (10,000 lb/h) achieved by multibanking Standard pressure rated to 20.7 bar g (300 psi g ), 24.1 bar g (350 psi g) version available. Easy installation, compact design. Suitable for installation outside. 6 months service interval. Easy change disposable cartridges reducing maintenance times.
	Maintenance Maintenance could not be easier, simply remove the top manifold and change the cartridges. A one-way fitting mechanism ensures that field servicing of the product does not compromise the efficiency of the system. All replacement cartridges are manufactured in a clean room environment and vacuum sealed prior to shipment to ensure integrity and performance.

Selection Criteria Mini PCO2

This unit should be replaced every 12 months. Maxi & MPlus PCO2* Stated flow rates are at 20.7 bar g (300 psi g). For flows at other pressures apply the correction factors shown below.

1) Replace every 6 months. (2) Replace every 12 months. Pressure correction factors