Electron beam sterilisation kit developed for Asian market

Advanced Electron Beams (AEB) has unveiled the e16ITB - its second ‘in a bottle’ sterilization system for PET and HDPE containers that has been specifically designed for Asia where bottle geometrics require a narrow nozzle emitter.

The company added that it has also sealed a strategic agreement with a major Japanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) on the back of the development.

“The development of the e16ITB was critical to signing a strategic agreement with a major equipment OEM based in Japan,”​ said sales vice president Brian Phillips. “The move to electron beam from traditional sterilization technologies is growing due to the rising cost of energy and bottle resin, combined with the pressure to reduce water and chemical use.”​

Using its e25ITB emitter platform as a starting point, AEB said the new product features a 16mm diameter, 350mm length nozzle compatible with narrow neck bottles up to two litres in volume.

The system can sterilize a single serve bottle in two seconds, thus supporting typical high-speed aseptic filling systems, said the firm.

“With this new product introduction, AEB now services the entire aseptic bottle market up to two litre,”​ says Jeffrey Andrews, company vice president of Engineering.

AEB claimed that their systems help beverage brand owners and co-packers cut costs by reducing energy use, reducing bottle resin and by eliminating the use of chemicals and water in their aseptic bottling systems.

With the company’s systems, surfaces of packaging materials are sterilized at high speeds with a stream of energetic electrons.