Non-Alcoholic Beer Production Using Ohmic Heating-Assisted Vacuum Distillation Method

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Chemical Engineering
• Beverage Production

Background:

• Non-alcoholic beer production requires efficient dealcoholization methods.
• Traditional methods like vacuum rotary distillation (VDD) can be time-consuming and energy-intensive.
• Exploring novel technologies like ohmic heating-assisted vacuum distillation (ODVD) is crucial for optimizing production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of ODVD and VDD for non-alcoholic beer production.
• To evaluate the impact of both systems on key quality parameters.
• To determine the energy efficiency and processing time of each method.

Main Methods:

• Non-alcoholic beer was produced using ODVD and VDD systems.
• Processes were conducted under varying vacuum pressures (100-200 mbar).
• ODVD utilized in-situ ohmic heating (15-25 V/cm), while VDD used external heating (50-67°C).

Main Results:

• ODVD demonstrated significantly shorter processing times and higher energy efficiency than VDD.
• Both methods led to a slight increase in pH and loss of specific aroma compounds.
• VDD samples exhibited higher color and bitterness values compared to ODVD and original beer.

Conclusions:

• ODVD is a viable and energy-efficient alternative for non-alcoholic beer production.
• ODVD offers comparable product quality to VDD with improved process metrics.
• Further research into ODVD can optimize non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing.