Peracetic acid cleaning on the rise for UK craft breweries

Word from the UK is that the brewery sector is seeing a rise in the use of the cleaning compound peracetic acid (PAA). Brewery supplier, Murphy & Son, has noticed an increased demand for peracetic acid following a three year relationship with West Yorkshire, UK, chemical manufacturer, Airedale Chemical.

Murphy and Son, suppliers of ingredients, processing aids, equipment and cleaning supplies to the UK brewing industry, has had an on-going contract with Airedale Chemical since 2012. Airedale Chemical is a leading UK manufacturer of PAA, a compound often used by various industries for heavy-duty cleaning.

“We’ve purchased peracetic acid from Airedale Chemical for over three years. It’s an extremely popular product for us, with both large breweries and microbreweries across the UK, due to its high cleaning qualities,” said Chris Cleal, product manager at Nottingham’s Murphy & Son. “Peracetic acid is one of the most potent micro-biocidal cleaning chemicals available and acts against organisms including aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, molds and other fungi that appear during the brewing process. It makes an effective terminal sterilant due to the ease of application and once applied it can break down into harmless by-products. It’s ideal in breweries as it’s fast acting, doesn’t foam, requires minimal rinsing and is non-polluting to the environment.”

Chris Chadwick, sales director at Airedale Chemical, said: “Peracetic acid is a strategic growth area for the company, and we are proud to have established such a strong working relationship with Murphy & Son over the years. As a disinfectant widely used in the brewing industry, peracetic acid is a corrosive chemical that requires extra packaged resourcing to prevent damage to its surroundings.

The power of PAA

Peracetic acid is a highly effective biocide that can operate across a range of temperatures. It rapidly kills a broad spectrum of micro-organisms meaning it is particularly popular for clean-in-place (CIP) systems in food processing and packaging.

Effectively cleaning over a temperature range of 5°C to 40°C, peracetic acid eradicates food spoilage organisms, coliforms, yeast and spores. It has low corrosiveness on stainless steel, removes mineral deposits without leaving residual phosphate and leaves equipment at acidic The chemical’s green credentials also pitch it high above its cleaning competitors such as sodium hypochlorite (household bleach). Peracetic acid has an organic compound make-up of acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide which decompose more efficiently and therefore do not pollute or harm the environment or sewerage treatment systems.

Growth potential

For Airedale Chemical, peracetic acid is a chemical that has grown in sales by more than 32 percent in the last two years and the company has plans to grow the product by a further 20 percent in 2015. Airedale Chemical has seen a steady increase in peracetic acid’s popularity over the last three years due its versatile and biodegradable qualities across an increasing number of market sectors and, sometimes, very niche applications.

Chris Chadwick, sales director at Airedale Chemical, commented: “Our commitment to growing peracetic acid as a product line has already been bolstered by a £500,000 investment in three new distribution vehicles this year. Two of these are tractor units specifically designed to store intermediate bulk container (IBC) and packaged chemicals, such as peracetic acid, in a safe and secure way.