IBrew Technologies CARBIO, Fermentation Activity Monitoring

IBrew Technologies CARBIO© Fermentation Activity Monitoring System is a patent pending solution for continuous Plato reduction measurement in a brewery. CARBIO monitors the instantaneous fermentation activity of the yeast by measuring the flow rate of carbon dioxide venting from the fermenter. Determining the progress toward completion is measured based on the total volume of carbon dioxide produced since the start and is converted into a reduction in Plato from original gravity. 

Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of anaerobic digestion of carbohydrates by yeast during fermentation. The chemistry is simple, for every molecule of sugar digested, two molecules of ethanol and two molecules of carbon dioxide are produced as byproducts. This gas, currently being vented, contains valuable information about the health of the fermentation.

Fermentation progress has traditionally been monitored by tracking the density of the liquid in the fermenter.  Fermenting beer is a complex fluid containing yeast cells, dissolved gas and liquid with sugar and alcohol.  An accurate manual measurement requires that, the liquid be degassed and the yeast cells removed. This is a time-consuming labor-intensive activity with the result that most breweries obtain one to two measurements per day per fermenter. 

Carbio is mounted on the carbon dioxide vent line.   The total fill volume and the initial gravity values prior to fermentation are used to calculate Plato drop in realtime as carbon dioxide gas is produced.  The time for detecting initial gas flow is an indication of the activity of the yeast in the fermenter.

The self-contained, compact size of the Carbio means the unit can be moved from fermenter to fermenter as needed.