Farewell to bottle rinsers?

A new sterilisation process has been developed which manufacturer alfill claims combines economical operation with product reliability. The company believes that the process of dry sterilisation for disinfecting PET bottles - as well as HDPE bottles - is a major breakthrough in beverage hygiene.

The technology is similar to the proprietary alfill process for the sterilisation of caps. The difference is that the new unit consists of a full-size rotary system that is combined with an alfill filler to form a single block. For bottlers wanting to use this technology with another filler make, the bottle steriliser can also be installed upstream of the filler as a stand-alone component.

The system also supports aseptic filling. The alfill CAF (Cold Aseptic Filling) concept gives producers of sensitive products such as fruit juice, milk, flavoured milk products and beer access to the new technology.

alfill uses H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), which breaks down into water and oxygen, as the disinfectant medium for this new bottle steriliser. Depending upon the contact time, this extremely efficacious process makes it possible to achieve disinfectant rates of 4 log to 6 log.

The precisely metred condensate mist (evaporation) makes it possible to completely cover bottles with an even coat that reaches even the tiniest recesses.

The drying phase that follows removes the gaseous medium from the bottles without leaving the slightest trace of residue. No residual water or disinfectant remains on the walls to contaminate the product.

A major advantage of the new process is that it is economical. alfill claims that operating costs are over 65 per cent lower than conventional processes in the case of 0.5-litre PET bottles and over 80 per cent lower in the case of 1.0-litre bottles. That represents a saving of approximately €0.84 per 1,000 bottles or a saving of no less then €120,000 for an annual production of 1.4 million hectoliters.

alfill​ points out that these figures do not take into account the extremely high price of water at certain locations or the cost of disposing of wastewater, not to mention the impact upon the environment.