Pasteurization system with purification of the process liquid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9957181-B2
Application number	US-201514743343-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 18, 2015
Priority date	Jun 24, 2014
Publication date	May 1, 2018
Grant date	May 1, 2018

Abstract

Pasteurization system with purification of the process liquid, with a feed and evacuation conveyor system for containers. At least one treatment zone with sprinkling nozzles to spray the containers with a process liquid such as water, the treatment zone including a screening unit with a sedimentation area for the deposition of sediment from the process liquid, a closed-loop circuit to re-use the process liquid, with devices to remove the sediment from the sedimentation area for each zone and to feed the sediment into a central filter unit. The central filter unit has at least one filter module for the filtration of solid matter from the inputted sediment so that the filtered process liquid is conserved. Devices to return the filtered process liquid to one or several treatment zones are also provided.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A pasteurization system with purification of a process liquid with at least one feed and
an evacuation conveyor system for containers, comprising:
a plurality of treatment zones with sprinkling nozzles to spray the containers with the process liquid, each of the plurality of treatment zones includes a screening unit with a sedimentation area for deposition of sediment from the process liquid;
a closed-loop circuit to re-use the process liquid;
a separate central filter unit;
one or more devices for removal of the sediment from the sedimentation areas of each of the plurality of treatment zones and for feeding of the sediment removed from the sedimentation area of each of the plurality of treatment zones into said separate central filter unit;
the separate central filter unit having at least one filer module to filter solid matter out of the sediment that is fed into the separate central filter unit, so that filtered process liquid is obtained; and
one or more further devices to return the filtered process liquid to one or more of the plurality of treatment zones.

2. The pasteurization system according to claim 1 , the one or more devices for removal of the sediment from the sedimentation areas of each of the plurality of treatment zones are designed to develop a vortex flow in a way that removes the sediment form the sedimentation area.

3. The pasteurization system according to claim 1 , the separate central filter unit including a further filter module for filtration of suspended sediments.

4. The pasteurization system according to claim 1 , the separate central filter unit including another filter module designed to implement at least one of microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, or reverse osmosis filtration.

5. The pasteurization system according claim 1 , the separate central filter unit including another filter module to irradiate the filtered process liquid with UV radiation.

6. The pasteurization system according to claim 1 , the separate system including a dosage unit designed to add biocide to the process liquid filtered by the central filter unit.

7. The pasteurization system according to claim 1 , one or several or all of the plurality of treatment zones each comprise an internal purification module with one or several nozzle systems which are designed to clean one or several internal areas of the plurality of treatment zones with the filtered process liquid.

8. The pasteurization system according to claim 7 , at least one of the nozzle systems designed to spray a ceiling above the sprinkling nozzles with the filtered process liquid.

9. The pasteurization system according to claim 7 , the containers to be sprayed in the plurality of treatment zones being guided on several feed and evacuation conveyor systems of the at least one feed and evacuation conveyor systems arranged on top of each other in a way that areas located between said several feed and evacuation conveyor systems can be cleaned.

10. The pasteurization system according to claim 9 , at least one of the nozzle systems being arranged in a way that areas that are located underneath water level during operation can be rinsed.

11. The pasteurization system according to claim 10 , the nozzle systems having rotational nozzles that are 360° rotatable.

12. The pasteurization system according to claim 11 , in combination with a control unit designed to control devices for removal of the sediment from the sedimentation area for each of the plurality of treatment zones and for feeding the sediment into the separate central filter unit.

13. The pasteurization system according claim 12 , the control unit being designed to measure the temperature of the process liquid of at least two treatment zones of the plurality of treatment zones, respectively, and designed to use the filtered process liquid from one treatment zone of the at least two treatment zones of the plurality of treatment zones for internal purification of another treatment zone of the at least two treatment zones of the plurality of treatment zones, said one treatment of the at least two treatment zones of the plurality of treatment zones having a higher measured temperature of the process liquid than the another treatment zone of the at least two treatment zone of the plurality of treatment zones.

14. The pasteurization system according claim 13 , the screening unit of each of the plurality of treatment zones comprising a pump and an inclined blade purifier, arranged under a surface of the process liquid, with several parallel, inclined blades, the pump provided to pump the process liquid alongside the blades.

15. The pasteurization system according to claim 14 , the pump provided to pump the process liquid over a deepest point of each respective treatment zone from the plurality of treatment zones so that the sediment can be deposited into the sedimentation area.

Assignees

• Krones Ag

Inventors

• Muenzer Jan

Classifications

• C02F2201/002

  Construction details of the apparatus · CPC title

• C02F1/50

  by addition or application of a germicide or by oligodynamic treatment {(C02F1/4606, C02F1/467, C02F1/76 take precedence)} · CPC title

• C02F1/444

  by ultrafiltration or microfiltration · CPC title

• C02F2209/02

  Temperature · CPC title

• B01D21/009

  Heating or cooling mechanisms specially adapted for settling tanks · CPC title