PETpla.net Insider 07 / 2017

BOTTLE MAKING 21 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 07/17 www.petpla.net before they are filled. Thanks to this dry sterilisation process, Konings’ pro- duction operation does not consume any water, and manages entirely with- out treating chemicals and generat- ing sterile water. “The PET-Asept D dry-aseptic line offers maximised flex- ibility as far as format change-overs are concerned,” says Luc Nulens. A format change-over routine, includ- ing CIP/SIP cleaning, takes 2.5h. For comparison: the equivalent time for wet-aseptics is up to twelve hours. Konings calculates 30 minutes for a product change-over pure and simple, without intermediate flushing, and the figure is a mere ten minutes when the only thing required between two different products is to drain the pipes. Konings schedules one format change-over per day on average, and one product change-over roughly every eight hours. www.krones.com The PET-Asept D dry-aseptic line provides flexibility for format change- overs. Extended shelf-life The new container is coated with an oxygen barrier. To guaran- tee an extended shelf-life, Konings is reducing the product’s oxygen content:  To start with, by deaerating the water down to less than 0.5 mil- ligrams per litre;  Then by putting it in interim stor- age in a sterile container with a nitrogen overlay;  And finally by treating it with nitrogen during filling: here, the empty bottle is pressurised with nitrogen, thus preventing a vacuum in the container after fill- ing, which would deform it. Thanks to the new PET-Asept D line, Konings has succeeded in tapping a new line of business: in future, the company can fill sensi- tive beverages without preserva- tives that do not need to be kept in the cold chain. “Our paramount goal is ensuring top quality for our products,” says Luc Nulens. 20,000 containers an hour The PET-Asept D line is rated at 20,000 containers an hour. It com- prises:  PET-Asept D aseptic block with  preform feed, interior cleaning and inspection  Contiform 3 stretch blow-mould- ing machine  Injector D sterilising module  Modulfill Asept VFJ aseptic filler  Closure disinfection with gase- ous H 2 O 2  Closer  VarioClean CIP system for auto- matic cleaning  VarioAsept J UHT system for thermal product treatment  Checkmat unit for inspecting the fill level  Linadry container drier  Contiroll HS labeller  Checkmat unit for inspecting proper placement of the labels  Variopac Pro packer  Modulpal palletiser PROCESS PILOT ® makes producing a better PET bottle as easy as 2 3 1 MEASURE CONTROL OPTIMIZE every bottle for changes in material distribution process variation, inside the blowmolder material utilization and orientation to achieve maximum bottle performance CONTACT US TODAY TO LEARN MORE! AGRINTL.COM | +1.724.482.2163 | SALES@AGRINTL.COM see us at Booth A4-336