PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2020

BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 21 No. 03/20 www.petpla.net 22 level of carbon footprint that must be taken into consideration,” he said. GEA is working around these limitations to provide a chemical-free sterilising process with lower TCO compared with electron beam. Reducing downtime A key area for development in aseptic filling is in the reduction of downtime, much of which is related to cleaning and sterilisation opera- tions with mandatory, weekly clean- ing the norm for all process and filling equipment. By optimising sterilisation procedures, it is possible for both downtime and utilities to be reduced. Another factor urgently driving downtime reduction in food and bever- age production is staff turnover, which bears heavily on safety and hygiene. It is essential for user interfaces to be as intuitive as possible, allowing prob- lems to be resolved easily and limiting training needs. GEA’s aseptic blowing & filling system is now designed with software and HMI interfaces supporting TPM (total productive maintenance) meth- odology, providing enhanced alarms management systems and easily accessible information for problem solving and root cause identification. The search for plastics to be proud of The use, or perhaps misuse, of single-use plastic has received much publicity recently but, despite the headlines, PET bottles remain the most environmentally friendly and commercially practical way of retailing beverages. It is incumbent upon eve- ryone in the supply chain to ensure that the environmental consequences of using plastic bottles are minimised. The battle is being fought on two fronts: recycling and biodegradabil- ity. Plastic has a major advantage in that, once collected, it can be recy- cled relatively easily into new bottles. Research continues to expand the amount of recycled materials in PET bottles with the ultimate aim being 100% of recovered material (rPET). Efforts are also being made to develop other materials such as bio- degradable plastics that will create less of a long-term threat to the envi- ronment. Innovative materials such as polyethylenefuranoate (PEF), a plastic derived from organic material, can be used in a wide range of applications such as bottles for soft drinks. PEF’s barrier and thermal properties are superior to conventional PET, helping to provide a longer shelf life. It also offers higher mechanical strength, so less material is required. This could become the material of choice for bev- erage manufacturers. GEA is currently working to ensure that bottling machinery and processes are compatible with these new materials. Using data to drive process and cost efficiencies Digitisation, and the opportuni- ties it provides for increased machine learning, is also important. GEA is part of a consortium that is research- ing machine learning on fillers and blowers, with the intention of increas- ing flexibility and efficiency in line with Industry 4.0 principles. Digitisation enables better control of the production line. It can provide accurate KPI information that can be accessed easily, on a laptop or phone. Data collected from the production line helps with troubleshooting and can provide valuable information to support preventative/predictive main- tenance programs. “Digitisation also allows better communication to ERP systems and helps to make bottle or product changeover faster, reduce mainte- nance costs, monitor production, enable more efficient communication, and track products once they have left the factory,” said Barbara. Talk amongst yourselves: using AI to free up operators Machine learning will also have a major role to play in the future. “If we install sensors to check parameters that are important for a process, we can set up an algorithm to create a self-adjusting, self-tuning machine without any operator involvement.” Barbara explained that, if an opera- tor needs to adjust a recipe, data could be automatically collected and the machine can learn to adjust the parameters itself. It should be pos- sible in future to get machines in dif- ferent factories talking to each other and learning from each other’s expe- riences. “This is the higher frontier of the digitisation project,” she said. “This is not easy, but it is our target.” Research & development GEA states to take an inclusive approach to developing new ideas. Not only does it work closely with third-party companies and universities to progress new innovations quickly and effectively, it also encourages its own members of staff to share their ideas in a constructive way. Every year, highly qualified staff members take part in a workshop to explore new ideas and make sure they were in line with customer requirements. GEA has recently received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 work pro- gram that promotes the development of a sustainable economy. Filling technology has developed rapidly throughout its history. Today the key focus is on flexibility, sustain- ability and digitisation, driven by cus- tomer needs and market demands. The pace of development is not slow- ing. It is, however, becoming more agile, more technology-oriented and more inclusive, with a spirit of coop- eration between key players. www.gea.com Wet sterilisation by PAA: still the most effective method today