PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2017

BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 01+02/17 www.petpla.net 17 checks the bottles’ top and base. Especially as the preforms for the Innocent containers are supplied from the UK, meaning they have travelled a long distance, it is necessary to check the containers for neck finish ovality. After the square containers have been stretch-blow-moulded, they are orientated by magnetically spring- loaded fingers. This is necessary in order to ensure dependable closing of the containers later on. The Modulfill VFJ machine fills the products volu- metrically in full-jet mode by means of an inductive flow meter, which is said to be product-friendly and to guaran- tee a high degree of microbiological safety and accurate fill quantities. “Each line has been connected to its own CIP module, which means cleaning and disinfection times are extremely short, coming to a mere two and a half hours approximately,” says Berthold Burgmeier. “This short time is due not least to dry sterilisa- tion of the isolator with H 2 O 2 . We were worried that in view of the complicated container shapes we’d have to manu- ally intervene more frequently in the isolator, which is why we were keen to have additional wet sterilisation of the isolator with peracetic acid. This kind of intermediate disinfection routine is then completed within 15 minutes,” explains Berthold Burgmeier. How- ever, for the intermediate-disinfection routine with peracetic acid, the line also needs sterile water in order to rinse off the acid. To obtain this, Grop- per does not use an elaborate UHT system, the company just filters the sterile water. www.krones.com to the different filling portfolio each of them has to handle, which on Line S1 are square bottles for Innocent NFC juices (0.9l, 1.35l and 1.5l) and round bottles for NFC-juice dealer’s brands (1l and 1.25l). On Line S2 special- shaped square bottles (0.33l, 0.5l and 0.9l) and Round bottles (1l) are being handled. To match these different contain- ers, the lines have been appropriately equipped in terms of closers: Line S1 handles flatcaps and the large Innocent closure, Line S2 likewise processes flatcaps, plus the large and the small Innocent closures. Besides the Innocent products, the two lines also fill a variety of NFC juices for retail customers. While there is a format change-over only every one day or two days, the product itself is changed two to three times a day. Almost from the start, both lines have been working in three-shift operation. Each of the lines features an identical Contiform Bloc, which in this configuration permits filling with the UltraClean process. This is the major difference as compared to the PET- Asept D block with H 2 O 2 decontamina- tion in use at the Gropper Bissingen plant. Since both high-acid products, such as NFC juices and smoothies, and dairy products are filled there, aseptic filling was imperative. Not so in Stockach. “Here, we’re filling exclu- sively high-acid products. In order to market these, whether inside the cold chain or out, the UltraClean process suffices,” explains Berthold Burgmeier, Technical Manager at Gropper. “I like Krones’ top-down approach to the fill- ing of sensitive beverages. It means that the aseptic machine is matched to the UltraClean process, and not the other way round. In the final analysis, we’re running an aseptic line here, only it isn’t called that, but it invariably gives us that reassuring feeling of being on the safe side.” Container orientation feature integrated After the preforms have been pre- heated, they are decontaminated in the Contipure system and transferred to the blowing wheel. This is followed by the PET-View inspector, which The Contiform Bloc with the UltraClean process is composed of:  Contipure preform decontamina- tion system with H 2 O 2 and isolator  Contiform stretch blow-moulding machine  Isolator  CIP module  Closure decontamination unit  Modulfill VFJ filler  Closer Contipure decontaminates the preforms by means of gaseous hydrogen peroxide within just a few seconds – in a treatment chamber between the linear oven and the blow module. The high H 2 O 2 concen- tration, in conjunction with the hot preforms, is intended to guarantee an excellent decontamination rate for the preforms both inside and out. The risk of subsequent recontamina- tion has been reduced to a minimum. Treating the preforms, instead of the blow-moulded bottles, is claimed to make for savings in energy and media consumption. For its filling operation, Gropper opted for two lines installed in parallel, each rated at 25,000bph. The screw-caps for the Innocent contain- ers taper downwards, so neck-handling is ruled out for this container variant.