Beer Filtration with Regenerated and Improved Diatomaceous Earth: Experience on a Laboratory Scale and in Industrial Application

By Nakolaj Schmid, G. Hohn, Meyer-Pittroff, F. Nitzsche and H. Juptner Technical University of Munich at Weihenstephan, Konig Brauerei GmbH & Co. KG, 3WTU - Warmetechnik und Umweltschutz GmbH. Paper presented at the World Brewing Congress 2000, Orlando, Florida, USA.

Abstract
Diatomaceous earth (D.E.)/(Kiesulguhr) is used world-wide to fil-ter beer. To-date, attempts at regeneration and re-use have been futile, primarily because of the deterioration of particle size of the regener-ated D.E. and secondly, because of the costs involved. This new ther-mal technique developed at the technical University of Munich at Weihenstephan permits regeneration of the D.E. with no change in particle size distribution of the recycled D.E. The beer filtration char-acteristics of the regenerated D.E. were examined both in beer filtra-tions on a laboratory scale and also at plant scale in several German breweries.
Keywords: regenerated diatomaceous earth, recycled D.E.  

Sintesis
SINTE �SIS La tierra diatom�cea (T.D.)/(Kieselgur) es usada en todo el mundo para filtrar cerveza. Hasta la fecha, los atentos de regeneraci�n y el re uso han sido f�tiles, primero por el deterioro del tama�o de la part�cula de la T.D. regenerada y segundo por los costos involucra-dos. Esta t�cnica nueva desarrollada en la Universidad T�cnica de Munich en Weihenstephan permite la regeneraci�n de la T.D. sin cambios en la distribuci�n del tama�o de la part�cula de la T.D. reci-clada. Las caracter�sticas de filtraci�n de cerveza de la T.D. regener-ada fueron examinadas en filtraciones de cerveza tanto a nivel de laboratorio como a nivel de planta en varias cervecer�as alemanas.