BOTTLED UHT MILK AND DAIRY DRINKS

1
H
2
O
2
monitoring probe (patented)
upstream of bottle sterilisation

Well known for its aseptic bottle filling machines (with 83 aseptic machines presently in production
around the world), Serac has regularly upgraded its technological offering in order to meet the rigorous
demands of its customers in terms of performance, quality and food safety. Let's take a closer look at
some of the technological developments which confirm Serac's expertise and know-how in the aseptic
filling of highly sensitive products such as UHT milk and dairy drinks.


H
2
O
2
DECONTAMINATION
OF PACKAGING AND THE MONITORING PROBE
Even though the sterilisation of packaging using
hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
) vapour is frequently
employed in foodstuff processing, Serac innovates
with a breakthrough in H
2
O
2
packaging
decontamination. In partnership with the Product
Technology Centre of the Nestl group in
Switzerland, researchers have made progress in two
key areas: control of H
2
O
2
concentration levels and
uniformity of packaging treatment. Unlike other
processes, Serac has opted for an expert solution
whereby hot air and H
2
O
2
are mixed at a single point
inside a vaporiser (patented). This technological
choice is extremely interesting in terms of efficiency
as it offers the advantage of providing a perfectly
uniform treatment of all packaging and a far better
control of the decontamination parameters.

The probe (patented) is used for extremely accurate
and continuous monitoring of the concentration
levels of active components in the system which
guarantees efficiency and duplication of the
decontamination process for each container. The
machine control system therefore offers full tracking
of all decontamination process parameters
(temperature, concentration, flow-rate and time) and
stops the machine when a parameter is outside its
tolerance limits. Another advantage offered by this
AN INSIGHT INTO
Serac's ASEPTIC
FILLING CONTROL
AND TECHNOLOGY
Monitoring probe


BOTTLED UHT MILK AND DAIRY DRINKS
BOTTLED UHT MILK AND DAIRY DRINKS
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innovative process: dry residue produced during
evaporation of the hydrogen peroxide remains
confined within the vaporiser thus rendering cleaning
operations much easier.

Finally, this solution is of true economic and
ecological interest as it uses a very small amount of
H
2
O
2
and consumes no water. This process has been
applied on installations used for the filling of bottled
UHT or ESL (Extended Shelf Life) dairy drinks (white
UHT milk, baby milk, formulated dairy drinks), but
also for cold-filled sauces which are particularly
sensitive to certain types of mould. Several
applications have also been developed for the
treatment of aluminium capsules and plastic caps.
ASEPTIC FILLING CONTROL
WITH INTELLIGENT MULTIFLOW NOZZLES






Serac has developed a patented filling nozzle known
as Multiflow which considerably reduces foaming
when the bottle is filled with milk. Less foam means
less risk of splashing or overflow and therefore
greater hygiene as well as optimisation of work-rates
and reduction of the headspace by filling the bottle
to a maximum level.

From a technical viewpoint, the filling nozzle is
operated by an electromagnet allowing electronic
variation of nozzle opening size in order to optimize
each filling cycle according to specific product
characteristics. The filling cycle is therefore no longer
linear but corresponds to a complex graph defined
for each product.

Versatility is another advantage of the Multiflow
nozzle. In order to make the most of this industrial
investment, it is now possible to process a wide
variety of products such as foaming dairy drinks,
products with pieces, fruits juices with pulp, etc. on
the same line.

Indeed, the nozzle uses a range of filling cycles
optimized for each family of products and offers a
notable increase in productivity as it is no longer
necessary to modify the nozzles when changing
production.

A new Multiflow Automatic Settings algorithm has
also recently been developed in order to render use
of this technology easier. Whereas in the past the
operator was obliged to make numerous changes to
parameters before beginning production, today
nothing needs to be done! The new algorithm
automatically adjusts the opening and closing
parameters for each nozzle, the flow-rate, filling time,
etc and also allows the system to overcome
product viscosity variations even while in production.

The anti-foaming efficiency setting may also be
dynamically adjusted without reduction in work-rate
in order to further improve filling accuracy
Multiflow nozzle operating principle


www.dairy-filling-machines.com BOTTLED UHT MILK AND DAIRY DRINKS 3
Upfill filling turret with
Multiflow nozzles
Foaming control screen using
Multiflow Automatic Settings
Multiflow nozzle
Around one hundred customers are already
benefitting from the advantages of Multiflow
technology and greatly appreciate the filling quality
(accurate and clean), the hygienic nozzle design (no
membrane) and line versatility.

An Upfill aseptic filling turret has been developed in
association with the offset Multiflow nozzles. Each
bottle is transferred by the neck using a clamp
fastened directly to the weight sensor. This is a
patented system and most of the mechanical parts
are outside the aseptic filling zone for easier cleaning
and sterilisation of surfaces in this zone.
Detailed view of the new weight sensor in the Upfill filling turret (hygienic design)


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Top section of the Upcap screw-capping turret Upcap aseptic screw-capping turret
ASEPTIC SCREW-CAPPING EFFICIENCY WITH THE UPCAP TURRET

The Upcap screw-capping turret is based on the same
hygienic design principles as the Upfill turret. To
ensure no particles caused by machine operation
enter the sterile zone around the bottle neck, only a
minimum amount of equipment remains present
above the bottle neck. The bottle clamping system
and carrousel top plate have been opened up to
ensure the laminar flow of sterile air inside the
aseptic booth remains unidirectional and both
cleaning and decontamination operations are made
easier. Specially designed to work in an aseptic
environment, the visual aspect of the screw-capper is
surprising as it gives an impression of lightness and
simplicity.
Highly versatile and capable of processing a wide
variety of cap forms, this screw-capper is driven by a
servomotor and is particularly well adapted to the
needs of companies requiring very precise monitoring
of the capping process. In order to guarantee quality
and tracking, the capping results and capping torque
values are saved in real time for each capping head
and an application is used to access this data via the
FCS+ man-machine interface developed for Serac
machines.




THE NEW ASEPTIC HEAT-SEALING TURRET UPSEAL

The specifications applicable to the aseptic heat-
sealing of aluminium capsules have also been
redefined under the terms of a recent order for a
machine used to fill baby milk, an ultra-sensitive
product. Based on the same principle as the
Multiflow filling nozzle, and in order to obtain
greater flexibility, the controls are no longer
pneumatic, but electric. A new electronic card has
been developed and a function added to the FCS+
software which controls these machines. An
independent head parameter setting function on the
control panel ensures optimum heat-sealing quality
(time, temperature, pressure). These parameters may
require modification depending on the bottle neck
diameter and material. Operation of each individual
heat-sealing head may be monitored and tracked.
Monitoring of heat-sealing parameters


www.dairy-filling-machines.com BOTTLED UHT MILK AND DAIRY DRINKS 5
This new design helps improve cleaning quality and
health safety by increasing the laminar air-flow
quality and eliminating retention zones.







THE FCS+ PRODUCTION INDICATORS MODULE

A machine standing still is a machine that costs
money. The "Production indicators" module of the
FCS+ software has been developed to reduce the
time period during which a line may need to be
slowed down or stopped.

By simply accessing the true and logged time data,
the user will quickly identify the causes for these
speed reductions, whether it is due to the filling
machine, an operator action, cap/container supply
problems, evacuation problems, etc For each of
these categories, the number of occurrences,
duration and origin of the incident are clearly
indicated in the form of a graph.

The "Production indicators" module also clearly helps
reduce production downtime. Indeed, it is now easier
to plan maintenance operations, with or without
exterior intervention, and check effectiveness of

corrective actions. Furthermore, long-term
monitoring of production results for each batch
enables optimisation of shift changes.

Particular attention has been paid to the user-
friendliness of the operator interface in order to
render access to data to be analysed easier. In
addition to this module, a remote operating report is
also available. It automatically and continuously
retrieves data provided by the production indicators
and thus allows direct monitoring of this data via the
web navigator.
Remote monitoring charts Upseal heat-sealing turret


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Fo.1.1.US




Conscious of the need to meet all industrial
requirements, Serac does not dictate its
technological solutions, but prefers to propose a
range of solutions best suited to each individual
filling project.

As far as the aseptic filling of sensitive products is
concerned, the group has acquired the technologies
and unequalled abilities to adapt to even the most
complex challenges while still respecting the most
stringent performance and hygiene standards.
Serac is therefore able to deliver aseptic lines for a
wide variety of applications such as UHT milk, fruit
juices and teas, whipped cream and formulated
dairy drinks.


SAS4 HP aseptic line. Solution with H
2
O
2
sterilisation of bottles