The Sierra Nevada Brewery senior design group, throughout this semester, completed a capstone design project for ChE 482. The project encompassed design of two chemical processes, one to produce beer and another to process brewery waste. To fulfill this assignment, research and calculations were done on the unit operations necessary for brewery design and waste treatment. A full economic and profitability analysis was performed on both processes. Alternative cases for fermentation were considered. An analytical fermentation model was produced to show alcohol, sugar, and yeast concentration as a function of time. Brewing experiments were completed in the laboratory provided each week. Four different parameters were altered each experiment, and a total of 8 runs were accomplished. Six data points were generated per experiment by taking readings of specific gravity and pH throughout the fermentation. A budget of $1000 was followed, which included two trips to Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, CA. Some team members were able to compete in region wide entrepreneurship competitions. The Sierra Nevada Brewery senior design group got second place in the AIChE Western Regional Poster Competition, and the FLoW team was a finalist in the FLoW Competition and the Sontag Competition
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