Method for improved rate and control of beverage carbonation with automatic shut-off

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10077418-B2
Application number	US-201615130262-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2016
Priority date	Apr 15, 2015
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

A system and method for carbonating a beverage is shown. The system includes a saturation tank having a gas head space of CO 2 , a carbonation tank, and a beverage supply system to pass the beverage between the saturation tank and the carbonation tank. A beverage supersaturated with CO 2 from the head space is formed in the saturation tank. The supersaturated beverage is passed from the saturation tank to the carbonation tank. Once the amount of CO 2 added to the beverage exceeds saturation, some of the CO 2 escapes from solution from the beverage and the pressure in the carbonation tank increases. Once the pressure within the carbonation tank reaches a pre-defined pressure for the desired volume CO 2 /volume beverage, a pump supplying the beverage to the saturation tank is shut-off and the inlet and outlet valves of the carbonation tank are closed.

First claim

I claim:

1. A method of carbonating a beverage comprising the steps of:
providing a saturation tank containing a beverage, wherein said beverage contained in said saturation tank is supersaturated with carbon dioxide;
providing a carbonation tank containing said beverage, wherein said beverage contained in said carbonation tank is non-saturated with carbon dioxide;
passing some of said beverage from said saturation tank to said carbonation tank, wherein said beverage supersaturated with carbon dioxide mixes with said beverage in said carbonation tank that is non-saturated with carbon dioxide;
passing some of said beverage from said carbonation tank to said saturation tank until said beverage remaining in said carbonation tank is saturated with carbon dioxide at a pre-defined pressure in said carbonation tank.

2. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 1 , further comprising the step of monitoring a pressure in said carbonation tank with a pressure sensor.

3. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 2 , further comprising the step of shutting off power to a pump when said pre-defined pressure in said carbonation tank is recorded by said pressure sensor.

4. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 2 , further comprising the step of closing a valve in communication with said carbonation tank when said pre-defined pressure in said carbonation tank is recorded by said pressure sensor.

5. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 1 , wherein said method is controlled by a programmable logic controller.

6. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 1 , wherein said beverage is beer.

7. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 1 , wherein a rate of passing said beverage from said saturation tank to said carbonation tank is equal to a rate of passing said beverage from said carbonation tank to said saturation tank.

8. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 1 , wherein a pressure in said saturation tank is greater than a pressure in said carbonation tank.

9. The method of carbonating a beverage of claim 1 , wherein said beverage passed from said saturation tank to said carbonation tank contains no gas bubbles.

10. The method carbonating a beverage of claim 1 , further comprising the step of supplying carbon dioxide from a gas source to a gas head space in said saturation tank and passing said beverage into said gas head space, wherein some of said carbon dioxide contained in said head space is dissolved in said beverage.

Assignees

• Osborn Gregory Scott
• Univ Arkansas

Inventors

• Osborn Gregory Scott

Classifications

• B01F3/04808

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B01F5/106

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• C12C11/11 Primary

  Post fermentation treatments, e.g. carbonation, or concentration (methods for reducing the alcohol content after fermentation C12H3/00; methods for increasing the alcohol content after fermentation C12H6/00) · CPC title

• B01F3/04737

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B01F3/04815

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic