Steam Boilers and Energy Optimization at the Tequila Industry

I've been working for 5 years now at Casa Sauza in the distillation and boilers area. During this time, one of our main objectives has been to save energy in our boiler area, as part of the Continuous Improvement program that we are carrying out.

What are boilers used for in tequila production?

The boiler area is the heart of the distillery since steam is fundamental for the Extraction, Hydrolysis, and Distillation processes, which are in charge of transforming the agave sugars into tequila.

Which fuels are used for the production of tequila at the boilers area?

At the tequila industry, the most common ones are heavy fuel (Fueloil) and/or Alternative Fuel. They both contain some amount of sulfur in the emissions that they release into the atmosphere.

Commitment towards the environment and the use of boilers

Commitment towards the environment has always been a key factor in the mission, vision, and values of Beam Suntory Group. They established internal environmental objectives, including a 10% decrease in total energy usage.

How did we achieve this energy saving in our boiler area?

In 2016, we began collaborating with SBE (Suntory Business Expert) and Miura on the Energy Saving project at Sauza. To achieve our environmental goal, we increased the efficiency of our boilers by switching to a system of one-step boilers.

These boilers were provided by the Japanese company MIURA. By switching to this new technology, the efficiency of our boilers has increased to 92%, resulting in a 13% energy saving in our distillery.

MIURA one-step boilers and natural gas.

A conventional boiler requires pre-heating for the generation of steam, which implies the use of fuel before the steam is administered to the Extraction, Hydrolysis, and Distillation processes.

MIURA boilers, on the other hand, generate steam in just 5 minutes, which implies significant savings in fuel consumption. Another change that contributes to caring for the environment is that MIURA boilers operate on natural gas, which we have switched from alternative fuels.

Benefits of natural gas vs fuel oil

Natural gas:

• Is cleaner
• Has no sulfur
• Reduces maintenance costs in boilers
• Will reduce 3,500 tons/year of CO2 emissions

MIURA boilers have an online maintenance system. This system sets an alarm or warning before a failure occurs, allowing for diagnosis and/or correction before the problem happens.

Another benefit of these boilers is their ability to handle variable steam loads, as they operate using multiple installation systems. This approach reduces energy consumption by efficiently managing changes in steam demand and maintaining stable vapor pressure.

The result of this new technology's innovation is to significantly reduce energy usage and emissions released into the atmosphere, even under changing load conditions.

Find more information about our production processes on the links below:

Lean Manufacturing in Tequila

TPM, an Improvement in Working Culture

How to Improve Quality on a Production Line

Come and visit Casa Sauza to learn how our modernized production processes deliver the purest tequila available in the market.