PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2018

BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 04/18 www.petpla.net 33 sius for 20 to 30s is ideal. Less acidic liquids, such as vegetable juices, need to be heated to higher tempera- tures. Finally, both solid and liquid ingredients pass through an aseptic balance tank before filling. This step prevents re-contamination and elimi- nates the need for further pasteurisa- tion. Pasteurisation solutions for liquid food GEA’s Asymmetric Two-Stream Pasteuriser brings together two sepa- rate processing lines to manufacture a single product. An aseptic product holding tank is placed at the head of each line. The tank containing the solids uses a slow-moving agitator to ensure the consistent fluidisation of the product and a modified atmos- phere, either nitrogen or aseptic air, to prevent bacterial infection and oxida- tion which adversely affect taste and product appearance. The flash pas- teuriser system on each line features GEA’s Varitube tubular heat exchang- ers; these comprise a patented deflec- tor at the inlet which creates a power- ful vortex and prevents the formation of deposits. Large radius bends in all the pipework also prevent dead areas and the accumulation of product. Product changeovers in just 20 minutes Treatment of the relative product in each line is based on exact specifica- tions to minimise holding times and the detrimental effects of heat. Pressures within the system are kept below 4bar to limit structural damage to product fibres or particles and both heating and post-holding cooling is optimised to ensure product quality and stabil- ity. Fluctuations in the pasteurisation units are prevented via a self-adjusting feedback system which continually monitors, analyses, and adjusts the process to make it more efficient and reduce product losses. In-place clean- ing or sterilisation is quick and efficient, requiring a minimum of energy and water. Added up, all these efficiencies mean products can be switched out in just 20min, thereby reducing downtime. After the appropriate heat treatment, the products are gently combined in a small, aseptic mixing tank before going on to aseptic or hot-fill bottling. Cus- tomers are able to manufacture prod- ucts that contain up to 30% particles. 87% of heat recycled In addition to minimising the energy used within the system, the GEA Asymmetric Two-Stream Pas- teuriser incorporates a GEA heat recovery system which recoups up to 87% of the thermal energy, minimis- ing the steam network load require- ment and reducing energy costs. This significantly reduces the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of the system over the lifetime of the plant and contrib- utes to the overall sustainability of the process. GEA’s dual fill solutions within aseptic production To achieve the quality and vari- ety demanded by consumers, GEA believes that a filling system needs to be both dual fill and aseptic: dual fill technology uses an aseptic piston doser to very accurately add the pieces of fruit in a separate process from the liquid beverage, which is filled in a second step with a volu- metric electronic filler. This is very difficult to achieve in a single stream process as the solid product tends to settle and separate from the liquid phase within the system. Keeping the product in a constant state of agitation to maintain the homogeneity is likely to cause product stress and loss of quality. Kept in suspension in this way pieces can also bridge with each other and clog making them hard to pro- cess. And although the technology is more widely available today, GEA was the first manufacturer to supply dual fill technology as part of an aseptic, cold fill process. As with all aseptic processes, dual fill bottling takes place within a controlled microbiological environ- ment that maintains sterility through- out the process. This approach can accommodate a wide range of drinks, including complex liquid foods such as yoghurt, liquid breakfasts and juices that contain pieces of fruit and fibre - whether high or low acid, still or car- bonated. Likewise, different products can be run on the same machine, and automatic sterilisation-in-place (SIP), which uses overheated water, allows for quick product changeover while eliminating any chance of cross con- tamination. The GEA aseptic dual fill system complies with the most strin- gent microbiological validation proto- col specifications worldwide, including Europe, the Far East and the United States. All sanitation and sterilisation cycles are automatically controlled at all critical points. The system can maintain a production level of over 50,000bph. Aseptic dual fill is also claimed to be the most flexible PET bottle fill- ing system available for beverages containing pieces, largely because the aseptic process doesn’t require the application of heat. This means PET bottles can be much lighter, resulting in both material and manufacturing cost savings, as well as reducing the impact on the environment. Dosing valve fills accurately A benchmark in the industry, GEA’s system achieves high filling accuracy and allows for pieces of fruit or cereals up to 10 x 10 x 10mm. This precision is thanks to a unique dosing valve, the GEA Piston Doser PX, which uses an accurate, cam- driven piston to draw the prescribed volume of solid particles into the cylinder before injecting them into the PET bottle. A hygienic seal around the piston maintains the aseptic integrity of the doser by preventing product leakage. The dosing volume can easily be regulated from 15 to 150ml by changing the dosing value on the HMI (Human Machine Interface). The stroke of the piston is automatically adjusted by a linear motor, which provides adequate dosing for most products in PET bottles up to 2l. Smaller or larger dosing volumes can be achieved by simply adjusting the cylinder diameter. Seamlessly switching between different liquids Following the dosing phase, a standard volumetric electronic filler, such as the GEA Fillstar CX EVO, is used to add the liquid part and to complete the aseptic filling process. The Fillstar CX EVO is a multi-func- tional system that allows custom- ers to seamlessly switch between different types of products, from still to carbonated aseptic beverages and vice-versa. Product changeover times are significantly reduced as the integrated control unit can easily be reprogrammed. The changeover from contact filling to non-contact filling is