Sunrise's analysis of clean and ultra-clean aseptic filling process equipment and filling process application of HACCP method

Ultra Clean filling machine is one of the latest generation of high-end liquid filling machines. It features fully automatic CIP and COP systems for disinfecting tank and filling valves and machine interior surfaces. At the same time, the ultra clean filling machine also needs to disinfect the bottle cap and empty bottle to achieve a clean state.

We use a high performance ultra clean filling system that provides a stable output from 8000BPH to 36,000BPH and can handle bottle from 150ml to 2.5L.

With the development of economy and the improvement of people's living standards, the health requirements for various beverages (water, juice, tea, beer, dairy, etc.) are getting higher and higher, so clean and ultra-clean filling are used in the equipment engineering of beverage projects. Technical methods are becoming more and more common. In this way, we can achieve the goal of clean and economical production and meet the growing demand of customers for health. The delivery of equipment and technology with the best performance and price to customers and the production of satisfactory products have become a common concern for beverage packaging factories and beverage equipment factories. For beverage factories, the economic application of equipment, especially filling and ancillary equipment, has always been the goal pursued by the industry. The use of technical and economic value analysis and comparison, and the method of hazard analysis and control of the filling process is a better way to apply clean and ultra-clean aseptic beverage filling equipment in beverage project engineering.

1. Process requirements for the supporting equipment of clean and ultra-clean beverage engineering. The most notable feature of the clean and ultra-clean aseptic filling process is that the beverages filled by the selected equipment are original and in line with the health attributes of the beverage.

It manages the HACCP management of equipment from human operation, machine process value performance, raw material cleanliness, sanitation and sterility, and clean sterilization personnel in many environments of space and ground, seamless sanitary connection of beverage supporting equipment, and filling production line operation performance Stable and reliable, convenient and thorough cleaning, sanitation and safety have definite technical specifications and requirements.

1.1 Production of clean and ultra-clean filled beverages-process raw water → water treatment → deionization → boiling → cooling → beverage puree (60～80℃, 2～4min)-filtration (200 mesh filter cloth) → Reconciliation (adding various additives and vitamin C) → ultra-high temperature instantaneous sterilization (UHT137℃, 5, 10, 15s) → cooling → degassing → aseptic filling (normal temperature, medium temperature) → capping → light inspection → sleeve label → Shrink film → coding → finished empty bottle → immersion or spray disinfection → sterile water rinse or online bottle blowing (bottle unscramble) → spray disinfection → sterile water rinse bottle cap → soak or spray disinfection → sterile water Rinse → Blow dry with sterile air

1.2 Clean and ultra-clean filling process technology Clean filling (CleanFilling) and ultra-clean filling (Ultra-CleanFilling) process technology is based on the principle of microbial fence technology and HACCP quality control theory, using clean filling equipment , In a clean filling environment, fill sterilized materials into clean packaging materials without adding preservatives and sealing, so as to achieve the purpose of extending the product shelf life.

1.2.1 Design requirements for clean and ultra-clean filling equipment The main equipment of aseptic filling must meet the sanitary design, mainly in the pipeline and valve technology, the polishing of the material surface, the surface shape design of important areas, and the selection of anti-corrosion It has advantages in many aspects such as materials, and it also comes with a complete automatic cleaning (CIP) system, a sterilization (SIP) system, and an equipment exterior foam cleaning system (COP). In addition, the aseptic cold filling machine is designed with its own unique aseptic filling valve and aseptic capping machine. All these measures ensure that the equipment will not pollute the material again. It is an option for clean and ultra-clean filling equipment. Important aspects to consider.

1.2.2 Sterilization of packaging materials, empty bottles and bottle caps The disinfection of disposable PET empty bottles and bottle caps is mainly by using an injection immersion sterilizer or a five-in-one sterilizer using a spray method. The low-speed clean and ultra-clean filling line bottle enters the disinfectant when there is undisinfected air remaining. This air is discharged by filling the bottle with the disinfectant. The inner and outer surfaces of the bottle must also be completely immersed in the disinfectant and stay for a while Time to ensure that the bacteria are completely killed, and then pour the bottle of disinfectant and use a sterile water fork-inch PET bottle for a short internal and external spray treatment. The PET bottles of the high-speed filling line need to be sprayed and poured with disinfectant, and poured with aseptic water. Then use sterile air (level 100) with the same pressure as the bottle to blow, especially the bottle cap must be blown dry, to further ensure that the processing process is carried out in a sterile environment.

1.2.3 Comparison of PET bottles used in the two filling processes It can be seen from the filling process that the requirements for PET bottles in the two filling methods are different.

The hot-filling process requires that the PET bottle can withstand a high temperature of 85-92°C without deformation, which requires increasing the crystallinity of the PET material, and at the same time limiting the induced stress during bottle blowing. The PET bottles it uses have the following characteristics: the wall thickness of the bottle, the clear ribs of the bottle wall to prevent heat shrinkage, and the requirement of a crystalline bottle mouth, which greatly limits the freedom of bottle design. Aseptic cold filling can use lightweight bottles (maximum heat-resistant temperature 70℃) and standard caps, which greatly reduces the cost of bottles and caps, and can freely choose and design bottle types.

1.2.4 Ingredients with purified water Water is the most used raw material in beverage production. The amount of ions and dissolved oxygen in the water, and the size of pH, may affect the quality of the beverage. Purified water is the water with the least ions, but it is necessary to take certain measures to limit the dissolved oxygen below a certain content, because the dissolved oxygen in the water may oxidize the organic matter and vitamin C in the beverage during the processing process, thereby making the beverage color darker and The measures to change the flavor and reduce the dissolved oxygen can be by degassing and deoxidizing purified water before filling, or by introducing N2 and CO2 and other methods to remove it. The preparation of pure water generally requires mechanical filters, precision filters, activated carbon filters, and primary or secondary RO reverse osmosis devices. The specific conditions can be adjusted according to the local water quality report.

2. Analysis of the technical and economic value of clean and ultra-clean process equipment and current hot-filling process equipment

2.13 Comparison of process characteristics and equipment investment

2.1.1 Filling process characteristics: The traditional hot filling can be divided into two types, one is high temperature hot filling above 80℃, and the other is medium temperature filling and then the product is heated to 65～75℃. 'S sterilization. In these two methods, there is no need to sterilize the product, bottle and cap separately, just keep the product at a high temperature for a long enough time to sterilize the bottle and cap. Aseptic filling first needs to sterilize the product, bottle, and cap separately, and then fill in an aseptic environment until it is completely sealed before leaving the aseptic environment. From the comparison of the two processes, the biggest difference is the time the beverage is heated. As we all know, the longer the heat treatment time, the greater the impact on the quality and taste of the beverage. Aseptic filling uses UHT ultra-high temperature instantaneous sterilization, and the heat treatment time of the material does not exceed 30s, and the sterilization effect can be guaranteed under high temperature conditions. The sterilization method used in hot filling keeps the material in a high temperature state for a long time, which seriously affects the taste, color and heat-sensitive nutrients (such as vitamins) content of the product. In addition, from the perspective of the production line configuration, when the filling machine fails and stops, part of the material processed by the hot filling method will return to prolong the heating time, which will seriously affect the quality of the entire batch of products, while aseptic cold filling does not This phenomenon will occur. The material has been cooled to room temperature after instantaneous sterilization, and its quality will not be affected when placed in a sterile tank.

2.1.2 The relatively clean and ultra-clean aseptic filling technology of equipment investment is more suitable for the production of milk, tea, juice, and pure draft beer beverages in terms of its technological characteristics. It has the advantages of maintaining color, aroma, and taste. The unparalleled advantages of the hot filling process. The equipment configuration is shown in Table 1.

2.2 Comparison of the various costs of clean and ultra-clean aseptic cold filling and hot filling The various costs of aseptic cold filling and hot filling listed by Mr. Hans Sindel of Cliance Co., Ltd. are shown in Table 2. It can be seen from Table 2 that the initial investment of aseptic cold filling is relatively large, but because the raw material cost and operating cost of aseptic cold filling are relatively low, it will be recovered quickly