Wort Separation
Management of Spent Grains
Brewing generates about 20 kg of spent grain per hectoliter of beer (50lb/USbbl). In small systems, the grain can be collected by manually shoveling or raking into collection tubs. Lauter tuns usually have sweep arms as part of the rake system that drives the draff into discharge pipes. For larger volumes, the draff is moved by auger, progressive cavity pump, or rotary screw pump with compressed air to a holding tank. The water content of spent grain is 80 percent or more for combined mash/lauter tuns, around 75 percent for a dedicated lauter tun, and as low as 65 percent for a mash filter (Farber et al., 2019).
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