Pasteurization is a key processing step in beverage production, ensuring product safety and shelf-life stability. Yet many manufacturers don’t have sufficient control of the water quality in these units. Poor water quality control in tunnel pasteurizers can lead to unexpected downtime, product losses, and regulatory compliance issues - all of which directly impact your bottom line.
In this blog, we'll explore the main challenges facing beverage manufacturers in tunnel pasteurization and how an integrated approach to water management can solve them.
Tunnel pasteurizers are the primary technology used in the beverage industry to pasteurise beer, juices, soft drinks, and other beverages sold in glass bottles or cans (hereafter referred to as packaging). Other processes, such as flash pasteurization, are used for beverages supplied in kegs or aseptically filled containers like PET bottles. This guide is dedicated exclusively to tunnel pasteurizers and examines their main challenges, with particular emphasis on:
leading to blocked water spray nozzles, sump screen fouling, and accelerated corrosion.
Scaling and deposits - Visual spotting on packaging and promoting microbial growth within the pasteurizer.
Corrosion - Caused by inappropriate water quality relative to equipment and packaging metallurgy. Microbial growth can increase corrosion risk, while corrosion by-products promote further microbial growth. Corrosion and damage on packaging is a quality indicator with direct impact on sales.
Regulatory constraints - Regulations restricting protective packaging materials (e.g. micropollutants, Bisphenol A) increase packaging sensitivity to corrosion and staining.
Environmental regulations - Zinc and phosphate-based corrosion inhibitors are restricted due to environmental concerns and continuous evolving of biocide regulations is forcing to evolve into alternative solutions
In beverage production, three challenges are deeply interconnected: corrosion, biological growth, and deposition. We call this the "working triangle" because managing one challenge often makes another worse. For example, if you increase biocide doses to manage microgrowth, corrosion may increase as a result. This is why it is important to look at these challenges as a whole.
monitoring, innovative chemistry and process expertise.
Real-time monitoring: Veolia's TrueSense* Analyzer provides intelligent, real-time monitoring and adaptive control customized to your pasteurizer configuration. It automatically adjusts chemical dosing and treatment protocols based on operational modes, including pasteurization, warming, or boil-out cycles. TrueSense monitors four key parameters: active biocide level, corrosion/scale inhibitor, pH, and conductivity. Chemicals are dosed according to real needs, and a single sample point can control multiple hydraulically interconnected baths.
Innovative chemistry: Traditional sodium hypochlorite biocides have significant drawbacks: they don't work effectively against biofilms, and lose potency at higher pH. Veolia's FoodPro* ST8615 chlorine stabilizer solves this, acting as a chemical shield for sodium hypochlorite that, in this way, penetrates biofilm barriers more effectively, delivering superior microbial control while reducing chemical consumption by 20-30%. The result: better biofilm control, lower cleaning frequencies, reduced harmful by-products, a less corrosive environment, and NSF G5 approval for food and beverage use.
For corrosion control and deposition on all water-wetted equipment surfaces, Veolia's FoodPro* ST product line delivers comprehensive protection through specially formulated solutions designed for tunnel pasteurizers. These advanced formulations tackle high-temperature challenges, low water consumption, and recovery water systems by forming stable protective films that prevent corrosive attack, maintain integrity across temperature fluctuations, extend equipment lifespan, reduce maintenance costs, and preserve thermal efficiency through scale prevention.
Process expertise: Beyond technology and chemistry, effective water management requires deep industry knowledge. Veolia's process expertise combines understanding of pasteurizer configurations, water chemistry dynamics, and beverage production challenges. This expertise ensures your treatment program is tailored to your specific facility conditions: source water quality, production volumes, packaging materials, and operational constraints. With process expertise, you move from reactive problem-solving to predictive optimization, identifying potential issues before they impact production and adjusting strategies based on real operational data and industry best practices.
Real-world results demonstrate the transformative impact of integrated water management.
A southern European brewery lost 49,000 cans to corrosion in a single incident (€8,000/hour in losses) due to water chemistry fluctuations. By implementing advanced monitoring and FoodPro corrosion inhibitors with pH adjustment, corroded cans were nearly eliminated.
A major Italian brewery dramatically reduced an operational burden: side box cleaning dropped from daily to twice weekly (85% reduction) and boil-outs from weekly to quarterly (92% reduction), generating €75,000 in annual savings.
At enterprise scale, a leading European brewery group achieved over €1 million in annual savings across five facilities while eliminating the use of 240,000 m3 of water annually and reducing fuel consumption by 9 million kWh per year.
These case studies prove that integrated solutions deliver immediate ROI while simultaneously addressing operational efficiency, environmental responsibility, and financial performance.
Veolia's comprehensive portfolio delivers integrated solutions across your entire brewing operation. From advanced water purification with PureBev* and high-recovery reverse osmosis to anaerobic wastewater treatment that recovers energy from waste streams, Veolia addresses every stage of beverage production. Proprietary membrane technologies enable effluent recovery and reuse, while digital optimization systems enhance treatment plant performance and reduce operating costs. Mobile water treatment units provide emergency capacity and operational flexibility. This holistic approach ensures water efficiency, cost optimization, and environmental responsibility throughout your entire facility.
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