PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2017

BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 01+02/17 www.petpla.net 27 filling line. We paid the company a visit in order to better understand the technology as well as the company philosophy. Janyce Franc, R&D Manager at Claranor, explained the company’s history: “We were founded in 2004 and worked on sterilisation with impulse lamps for years, originally for caps in ozone free water filling of water. This is therefore the area that we are mainly known for. Later, the importance of the treatment of preforms became a priority for us and we began to develop the appropriate systems for it. In 2013, we installed the first equipment for the decontami- nation of preform necks. The idea is that it offers a clean alternative to the chemical-based sterilisation method, which is well-established in the bever- age production process. It is widely known that consumer expectation of ‘naturality’ of the products is increas- ing; that should begin with the pack- aging. For the producer, the use of our equipment should be cheaper, in comparison with other methods.” The idea of using pulsed light technology for decontamination at the microbiological level is not new. Field tests in Japan in 1970s were followed by a patent in 1984, in which xenon light is named as a method of decon- tamination. The 1990s saw further research in the area but, while the positive effect of xenon light could be demonstrated, the precise parameters – including the most appropriate and effective voltage, power, duration of flash and so on – could not be estab- lished in a way that provided reliable, commercially-acceptable results. It took Claranor a few more years and a lot more effort, both on its own and in collaboration (especially with INRA, the French Institute for Research in Food and Agriculture through a common PhD work), to arrive at the effective solution. “In our own research projects, together with those we conduct in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging, we verified various effects under a range of parameters and can Chemical-free decontamination for preforms and closures integrated into the filling line Pulsed light sterilisation by Kay Barton Claranor is based in Avignon, France, about an hour’s drive north of Marseilles. A small company with just 30 employees, it develops inline equipment for the decontamination of pre- forms, caps, cups and lids in the beverage and milk sectors. We met: Mrs Janyce Franc, R&D Manager Mrs Isabelle de Forsanz, Marketing Manager Mr Pierre Lalubin, Mechanical Project Manager Mr Alain Berberian, Microbiology Manager Mrs Magali Bry, Microbiologist The special feature of Claranor’s process is that it uses no chemicals to destroy the microorganisms that adhere to the inner and outer surfaces of the preform or closure. Instead, Claranor uses a xenon impulse flash lamp producing an intense flash of white light containing a high quan- tity of UV, which verifiably kills mould and bacterial spores. In addition to environmental aspects, this method is claimed to offer efficiency and total cost of ownership advantages when the equipment is integrated into the Claranor’s technician at work with Janyce Franc (left) and Isabelle de Forsanz (right) Sterilisation of caps ASEPTIC HOT FILL SPECIAL