Tunnel pasteurisers heated without steam
How a brewery pasteurising 150,000 bottles a day can heat its 60–80 °C tunnel pasteuriser zones with heat pumps, and what it saves against a diesel boiler.
▶Video: Process hot water for food, dairy and beverages
V02 · 2–2.5 minPasteurisers, CIP, cooking and washing on stored hot water instead of boiler steam
Video coming soon01Problem statement
- Steam into spray water. Zone spray water at 60–80 °C is usually heated by steam exchangers or direct injection. Steam control is coarse and zones overshoot.
- Pasteurisation units drift. Over-heating adds unnecessary PUs, which affects beer flavour. Under-heating is a microbial risk.
- Line stops waste heat. When the filler stops, hot zones keep losing heat and the boiler keeps firing.
- Losses between fuel and process. Burning diesel in a boiler or heater and distributing the heat loses a quarter or more of the fuel's energy before it reaches the process.
- Compliance, safety and handling. Fired equipment brings boiler inspections, fuel storage and unloading, flue emissions and an attendant on every shift.
02Use case
The reference brewery fills 330 mL bottles at 15,000 bottles an hour for 10 hours a day, about 49,500 litres of beer. Two tunnel pasteurisers heat the filled bottles to 62 °C, hold them and cool them back down.
| Heat user | Process temp. | Basis | Heat, kWh/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product heating, net of zone regeneration | Beer 4 → 62 °C | 150,000 bottles × 1.455 kJ/K × 58 K × 40% net after regeneration | 1,406 |
| Spray water make-up | 62 °C | 15,000 L/day, 28 → 62 °C | 592 |
| Tunnel and tank surface losses | 60–80 °C | 2 pasteurisers × 15 kW × 10 h | 300 |
| Storage and pipework standing losses | – | about 5% | 115 |
| Total useful heat | 2,413 | ||
Averaged over 18 running hours, the heat pumps need about 134 kW.
03P&ID
Tags: HP heat pump, TK tank, SG steam generator, P pump, PHE plate heat exchanger, TCV temperature control valve, TIC temperature indicating controller (panel), TT temperature transmitter, MT moisture transmitter, PT pressure transmitter, LT level transmitter, FS flow switch, NC normally closed. Process fluids are heated through their own exchanger, coil or jacket.
04Solution
System description
- 3 × SE-SHT-50C (150 kW total) (SE-SHT cascade heat pump) delivering 85 °C, covering the day's 2,413 kWh in about 16.1 running hours.
- A 4,500 L insulated storage tank decouples the heat pumps from the process peaks.
- The diesel-fired steam boiler stays connected behind a normally closed valve as standby.
- Each heating and superheat zone gets a plate exchanger fed with 85 °C hot water from the storage tank, replacing the steam exchangers.
- Zone-to-zone regeneration stays as it is. The heat pumps supply only the net heat and the losses.
- The tank keeps hot water ready during filler stops, so zones recover quickly on restart.
Selected equipment
| Model | SE-SHT-50C × 3 |
|---|---|
| Heating capacity | 50 kW each, 150 kW total |
| COP | 2.6 at A20 °C / W90 °C (data sheet T1) |
| Power input | about 55.8 kW total at rated conditions |
| Rating | cascade R410A + R515B, rated 90 °C, 95 °C maximum |
| Supply temperature | 85 °C |
| Storage | 4,500 L insulated tank |
Ratings from the Sunniva TDS 2026 data sheets.
Control philosophy
TT-101 at the tank top calls the heat pumps on below 80 °C and off at 85 °C. TT-102 at the bottom gives an early start before the line starts. TIC-201 on each zone holds spray water to the pasteuriser's PU control set point, and TIC-202 holds make-up water. The boiler stays as standby.
05Energy saving and ROI
Change any input to match a customer's site. Defaults are typical Indian prices for October 2026. The installed cost is a placeholder; replace it with the actual quotation.
| Existing | Heat pump | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily consumption | – | – |
| Annual energy cost | – | – |
| Cost per 1,000 L beer | – | – |
| CO₂ per year | – | – |
06Benefits
Accurate PU control
Hot-water heating lets each zone hold its temperature closely, so beer gets the PUs it needs and no more.
Quick recovery after stops
Stored hot water brings zones back to temperature quickly when the filler restarts.
No live steam on the packaging hall floor
The pasteurisers run without steam lines and traps in the packaging area.
Lower energy cost
Each kWh of electricity delivers about 2.6 kWh of heat at the required temperature, against well under one kWh of useful heat per kWh of fuel burnt.
No flame on site
No burner, flue or fuel tank for this duty, and no fuel deliveries to schedule.
Built-in redundancy
Several machines share the load. If one is serviced, the others and the storage carry most of the day, with the existing heater in reserve.
07Engineering pointers
Site data to collect
- Bottles or cans per hour and running hours
- Zone temperatures and PU targets
- Regeneration arrangement between zones
- Spray water make-up rate
- Present fuel or electricity use and monthly bill
- Sanctioned electrical load and spare capacity
- Space for the heat pumps and storage, with service access
- Winter minimum ambient at site
Design notes
- Spray water chemistry. Tunnel spray water is dosed against scale and slime. Keep the heat pump loop closed and separate through the zone exchangers.
- Exchanger sizing. Exchangers sized for steam will be too small with 85 °C water. Re-size for a 5–10 K approach on the zone water.
- Electrical. About 56 kW of heat pump input at rated conditions, plus pumps and fans. Check spare sanctioned load before ordering.
- Winter output. The SE-SHT cascade gives about 80% of rated output at 7 °C ambient and still runs at −20 °C. Size on the coldest design day for northern sites.
- Water quality. Scale forms quickly above 60 °C. Use softened make-up and keep the heat pump loop closed, with process fluids on the far side of an exchanger or coil.
Service and warranty
Sunniva has supplied 5,000+ heat pumps since 2012, with nine service technicians across India, including remote sites such as Leh. All components carry a one-year warranty.
Talk to us
Tunnel pasteurisers heated without steam
How a brewery pasteurising 150,000 bottles a day can heat its 60–80 °C tunnel pasteuriser zones with heat pumps, and what it saves against a diesel boiler.
▶Video: Process hot water for food, dairy and beverages
V02 · 2–2.5 minPasteurisers, CIP, cooking and washing on stored hot water instead of boiler steam
Video coming soon01Problem statement
- Steam into spray water. Zone spray water at 60–80 °C is usually heated by steam exchangers or direct injection. Steam control is coarse and zones overshoot.
- Pasteurisation units drift. Over-heating adds unnecessary PUs, which affects beer flavour. Under-heating is a microbial risk.
- Line stops waste heat. When the filler stops, hot zones keep losing heat and the boiler keeps firing.
- Losses between fuel and process. Burning diesel in a boiler or heater and distributing the heat loses a quarter or more of the fuel's energy before it reaches the process.
- Compliance, safety and handling. Fired equipment brings boiler inspections, fuel storage and unloading, flue emissions and an attendant on every shift.
02Use case
The reference brewery fills 330 mL bottles at 15,000 bottles an hour for 10 hours a day, about 49,500 litres of beer. Two tunnel pasteurisers heat the filled bottles to 62 °C, hold them and cool them back down.
| Heat user | Process temp. | Basis | Heat, kWh/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product heating, net of zone regeneration | Beer 4 → 62 °C | 150,000 bottles × 1.455 kJ/K × 58 K × 40% net after regeneration | 1,406 |
| Spray water make-up | 62 °C | 15,000 L/day, 28 → 62 °C | 592 |
| Tunnel and tank surface losses | 60–80 °C | 2 pasteurisers × 15 kW × 10 h | 300 |
| Storage and pipework standing losses | – | about 5% | 115 |
| Total useful heat | 2,413 | ||
Averaged over 18 running hours, the heat pumps need about 134 kW.
03P&ID
Tags: HP heat pump, TK tank, SG steam generator, P pump, PHE plate heat exchanger, TCV temperature control valve, TIC temperature indicating controller (panel), TT temperature transmitter, MT moisture transmitter, PT pressure transmitter, LT level transmitter, FS flow switch, NC normally closed. Process fluids are heated through their own exchanger, coil or jacket.
04Solution
System description
- 3 × SE-SHT-50C (150 kW total) (SE-SHT cascade heat pump) delivering 85 °C, covering the day's 2,413 kWh in about 16.1 running hours.
- A 4,500 L insulated storage tank decouples the heat pumps from the process peaks.
- The diesel-fired steam boiler stays connected behind a normally closed valve as standby.
- Each heating and superheat zone gets a plate exchanger fed with 85 °C hot water from the storage tank, replacing the steam exchangers.
- Zone-to-zone regeneration stays as it is. The heat pumps supply only the net heat and the losses.
- The tank keeps hot water ready during filler stops, so zones recover quickly on restart.
Selected equipment
| Model | SE-SHT-50C × 3 |
|---|---|
| Heating capacity | 50 kW each, 150 kW total |
| COP | 2.6 at A20 °C / W90 °C (data sheet T1) |
| Power input | about 55.8 kW total at rated conditions |
| Rating | cascade R410A + R515B, rated 90 °C, 95 °C maximum |
| Supply temperature | 85 °C |
| Storage | 4,500 L insulated tank |
Ratings from the Sunniva TDS 2026 data sheets.
Control philosophy
TT-101 at the tank top calls the heat pumps on below 80 °C and off at 85 °C. TT-102 at the bottom gives an early start before the line starts. TIC-201 on each zone holds spray water to the pasteuriser's PU control set point, and TIC-202 holds make-up water. The boiler stays as standby.
05Energy saving and ROI
Change any input to match a customer's site. Defaults are typical Indian prices for October 2026. The installed cost is a placeholder; replace it with the actual quotation.
| Existing | Heat pump | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily consumption | – | – |
| Annual energy cost | – | – |
| Cost per 1,000 L beer | – | – |
| CO₂ per year | – | – |
06Benefits
Accurate PU control
Hot-water heating lets each zone hold its temperature closely, so beer gets the PUs it needs and no more.
Quick recovery after stops
Stored hot water brings zones back to temperature quickly when the filler restarts.
No live steam on the packaging hall floor
The pasteurisers run without steam lines and traps in the packaging area.
Lower energy cost
Each kWh of electricity delivers about 2.6 kWh of heat at the required temperature, against well under one kWh of useful heat per kWh of fuel burnt.
No flame on site
No burner, flue or fuel tank for this duty, and no fuel deliveries to schedule.
Built-in redundancy
Several machines share the load. If one is serviced, the others and the storage carry most of the day, with the existing heater in reserve.
07Engineering pointers
Site data to collect
- Bottles or cans per hour and running hours
- Zone temperatures and PU targets
- Regeneration arrangement between zones
- Spray water make-up rate
- Present fuel or electricity use and monthly bill
- Sanctioned electrical load and spare capacity
- Space for the heat pumps and storage, with service access
- Winter minimum ambient at site
Design notes
- Spray water chemistry. Tunnel spray water is dosed against scale and slime. Keep the heat pump loop closed and separate through the zone exchangers.
- Exchanger sizing. Exchangers sized for steam will be too small with 85 °C water. Re-size for a 5–10 K approach on the zone water.
- Electrical. About 56 kW of heat pump input at rated conditions, plus pumps and fans. Check spare sanctioned load before ordering.
- Winter output. The SE-SHT cascade gives about 80% of rated output at 7 °C ambient and still runs at −20 °C. Size on the coldest design day for northern sites.
- Water quality. Scale forms quickly above 60 °C. Use softened make-up and keep the heat pump loop closed, with process fluids on the far side of an exchanger or coil.
Service and warranty
Sunniva has supplied 5,000+ heat pumps since 2012, with nine service technicians across India, including remote sites such as Leh. All components carry a one-year warranty.