JP7112682B2 - Deodorizing method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a deodorizing method for deodorizing a content filling system by CIP.

Conventionally, as a system for filling a container such as a bottle with a beverage, there has been known a content filling system that sterilizes the beverage itself and also sterilizes a surge tank, piping, filling nozzles, etc. to bring them into a sterile state. In such a content filling system, for example, when switching the type of beverage, CIP (Cleaning in Place) processing and SIP (Sterilizing in Place) processing are performed (for example, Patent Document 1).

CIP is intended to remove the residue of the previous beverage adhering to the beverage flow path and tank, for example, after flowing a cleaning liquid in which an alkaline chemical such as caustic soda is added to water in the beverage flow path , by running a cleaning solution containing an acid chemical added to water.

SIP is intended to sterilize and render the beverage channels and tanks aseptic, for example by passing heated steam or hot water through the CIP-cleaned channels.

However, in recent years, such content filling systems have been used, for example, for mineral water, carbonated drinks, tea-based drinks, fruit drinks, coffee drinks, milk drinks, functional drinks, alcoholic drinks, so-called energy drinks containing caffeine and arginine. It is designed to be filled with various beverages such as Moreover, among such diverse beverages, there are also beverages containing many flavors. Furthermore, there are cases where a flavor-free beverage, such as mineral water, is filled next to a flavor-rich beverage. Therefore, if the flavor remains in the beverage flow path after CIP and SIP, the remaining flavor will enter the next beverage and the aroma of the previous beverage will adhere to the next beverage. If the aroma of the previous beverage is attached to the next beverage, CIP and SIP must be performed again, which significantly deteriorates productivity.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-22600

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a deodorizing method capable of efficiently removing flavors remaining in a filling system.

The present invention provides a deodorizing method for deodorizing a content filling system by CIP, in which a first rinsing step of supplying a first rinsing water for a first circulation system to a first circulation system including at least a heat sterilizer for heating a beverage; , a drug circulation step of supplying a first circulatory system drug to the first circulatory system and circulating it; and a second rinsing step of supplying a first circulatory system second rinsing water to the first circulatory system, In the chemical circulation step, the chemical for the first circulation system is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or more and 150° C. or less in the first circulation system.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the chemical circulation step, the time for supplying and circulating the chemical for the first circulatory system in the first circulatory system is 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the second rinsing step, the second rinsing water for the first circulation system is heated to a temperature of 70°C or higher and 150°C or lower in the first circulation system.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the second rinsing step, the time for supplying the second rinsing water for the first circulation system to the first circulation system is 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the first rinsing step, the first rinsing water for the first circulation system is heated to a temperature of 30° C. or more and 100° C. or less in the first circulation system.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the first rinsing step, the time for supplying the first rinsing water for the first circulation system to the first circulation system is 5 minutes or more and 30 minutes or less.

The present invention further comprises a third rinsing step of supplying third rinsing water for the first circulation system to the first circulation system, and in the third rinsing step, the third rinsing water for the first circulation system is the A deodorizing method in which the first circulation system is heated to a temperature of 30° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the third rinsing step, the time for supplying the third rinsing water for the first circulation system to the first circulation system is 5 minutes or more and 120 minutes or less.

The present invention provides a deodorizing method for deodorizing a content filling system by CIP, in which first rinsing supplies first rinsing water for the second circulation system to a second circulation system including at least a filling device for filling contents into a container. a chemical circulation step of supplying a second circulatory system chemical to the second circulatory system to circulate; and a second rinsing step of supplying a second circulatory system rinsing water to the second circulatory system. In the second rinsing step, the second rinsing water for the second circulation system is heated to a temperature of 40° C. or more and 100° C. or less in the second circulation system.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the second rinsing step, the time for supplying the second rinsing water for the second circulation system to the second circulation system is 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the first rinsing step, the first rinsing water for the second circulation system is heated to a temperature of 40°C or higher and 100°C or lower in the second circulation system.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the first rinsing step, the time for supplying the first rinsing water for the second circulation system to the second circulation system is 5 minutes or more and 30 minutes or less.

The present invention further comprises a third rinsing step of supplying third rinsing water for the second circulation system to the second circulation system, and in the third rinsing step, the third rinsing water for the second circulation system In the second circulation system, the deodorizing method is heated to a temperature of 40° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the third rinsing step, the time for supplying the third rinsing water for the second circulation system to the second circulation system is 5 minutes or more and 120 minutes or less.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the chemical circulation step, the chemical for the second circulatory system is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower in the second circulatory system.

The present invention is the deodorizing method, wherein in the chemical circulation step, the time for supplying and circulating the chemical for the second circulatory system in the second circulatory system is 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the flavor which remains in a content filling system can be removed efficiently.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a content filling system to which a deodorizing method according to one embodiment of the invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a deodorizing method according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a deodorizing method according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a deodorizing method according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a deodorizing method according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a modification of the content filling system to which the deodorizing method according to one embodiment of the invention is applied.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention.

First, with reference to FIG. 1, an outline of a content filling system to which the deodorizing method according to the present embodiment is applied will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the content filling system 100 includes a preparation device 1, a balance tank 2, a heat sterilizer (Ultra High-temperature, hereinafter referred to as UHT) 3, a surge tank 4, and a head tank 5. , a filling device (filler) 6 . The brewing device 1, the balance tank 2, the UHT 3, the surge tank 4, the head tank 5, and the filling device 6 are arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side along the beverage conveying direction. The blending device 1, the balance tank 2, the UHT 3, the surge tank 4, the head tank 5, and the filling device 6 are each connected by a product supply system pipe 20 through which the beverage passes, as will be described later. At least one of the surge tank 4 and the head tank 5 may be provided.

Among them, the blending device 1 blends the beverage as a product at a desired mixing ratio. Examples of products include mineral water, carbonated drinks, tea drinks, fruit drinks, coffee drinks, milk drinks, functional drinks, alcoholic drinks, and so-called energy drinks containing caffeine and arginine.

The balance tank 2 facilitates the flow of the beverage by storing the beverage prepared by the preparation device 1 . As shown in FIG. 1, a heater H1 is provided on the downstream side of the balance tank 2, and the medicine is heated by the heater H1 during CIP, which will be described later.

UHT 3 heats and sterilizes the beverage supplied from balance tank 2 . This UHT 3 has a first stage heating section 31 , a second stage heating section 32 , a holding tube 33 , a first stage cooling section 34 and a second stage cooling section 35 . The beverage supplied to the UHT 3 is gradually heated by the first stage heating section 31 and the second stage heating section 32 and heated to the target temperature within the holding tube 33 . In this case, for example, the beverage is heated to 60° C. or higher and 80° C. or lower by the first heating unit 31 and heated to 60° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower by the second heating unit 32 . Also, the temperature is maintained within the holding tube 33 for a certain period of time. The beverage that has passed through the holding tube 33 is gradually cooled by the first stage cooling section 34 and the second stage cooling section 35 . Note that the number of stages of the heating section and the cooling section may be increased or decreased as necessary.

The surge tank 4 stores the beverage sterilized by the UHT3.

The head tank 5 stores sterilized beverages to be supplied to the filling device 6 .

The filling device 6 fills the contents sterilized in advance into the container 9 from the opening of the container 9 . In this filling device 6, contents are filled into an empty container 9. As shown in FIG. In the filling device 6, the contents are filled into the containers 9 while the plurality of containers 9 are rotated (revolved) together with the filling nozzle 6a. This content may be filled in the container 9 at room temperature. The contents are previously sterilized by heating or the like, cooled to normal temperature of 3° C. or higher and 40° C. or lower, and then filled in the container 9 .

The content filling system 100 also has an aseptic chamber 10 . Inside the sterile chamber 10 is housed the filling device 6 described above. In this case, the inside of the sterile chamber 10 is kept sterile.

The brewing device 1, the balance tank 2, the UHT 3, the surge tank 4, the head tank 5, and the filling device 6 described above are each connected by a product supply system pipe 20 through which the beverage passes. The product supply system piping 20 includes an upstream supply piping 20a positioned upstream of a manifold valve 21 disposed between the UHT 3 and the surge tank 4, and a downstream supply piping 20b positioned downstream of the manifold valve 21. and Here, the manifold valve 21 is for switching the flow path. As indicated by the thick line in FIG. 1, the manifold valve 21 allows the upstream supply pipe 20a and the downstream supply pipe 20b to communicate with each other when the container 9 is filled with the beverage. On the other hand, when CIP is performed, the manifold valve 21 communicates the upstream supply pipe 20a with an upstream return pipe 22a (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and communicates the downstream supply pipe 20b with the downstream feed pipe 20b. It communicates with the return pipe 22b (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

An upstream return pipe 22a is connected to the manifold valve 21, and a bypass pipe 23a connecting the upstream return pipe 22a and the balance tank 2 is connected to the downstream side of the upstream return pipe 22a. . Further, in the upstream return pipe 22a, downstream of the bypass pipe 23a, there is provided an upstream supply mechanism 24a for supplying medicine or the like when performing CIP. An upstream introduction pipe 26a that connects the upstream supply mechanism 24a and the bypass pipe 23a is connected to the upstream supply mechanism 24a, and a drug or the like is supplied to the bypass pipe 23a through the upstream introduction pipe 26a. is configured to With such a configuration, the upstream supply pipe 20a, the upstream return pipe 22a, and the bypass pipe 23a form an upstream circulation system (first circulation system) 25a for performing CIP. In the upstream circulation system 25a, sealing members such as packings are provided at connection points of pipes and members to prevent beverages from leaking out. In this case, in the upstream circulation system 25a, as a sealing member, for example, fluorine resin (PTFE), EPDM, NBR, H-NBR, silicone, fluorine-based rubber packing, or various rubbers coated with PTFE can be used. .

An alkaline cleaning liquid can be used as the chemical supplied to the bypass pipe 23a by the upstream supply mechanism 24a during CIP. The alkaline cleaning liquid contains, as an alkaline component, a desired one among sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, chlorinated alkalis such as sodium hypochlorite, and the like. In addition, the alkaline cleaning solution may be an organic acid such as citric acid, succinic acid or gluconic acid, or a hydroxycarboxylic acid such as phosphoric acid and their alkali metal salts, alkaline earth metal salts, ammonium salts and alkanolamine salts such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Sequestering agents such as acid compounds, anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, nonionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ethers, solubilizers such as sodium cumenesulfonate, polyacrylic acid or metal salts thereof, corrosion inhibitors, preservatives, antioxidants, dispersants, antifoaming agents, and the like. Pure water, ion-exchanged water, distilled water, tap water, or the like is used as water for dissolving these. Also, the alkaline cleaning solution may contain various bleaching agents such as hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, sodium percarbonate, and thiourea dioxide.

Such an alkaline cleaning liquid may contain, for example, sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide in an amount of 0.1% by mass or more and 10% by mass or less. Further, the alkaline cleaning liquid may contain sodium hypochlorite with a chlorine concentration of 100 to 3,000 ppm. When a cleaning solution containing sodium hypochlorite with a chlorine concentration of 100 to 3,000 ppm is used as the alkaline cleaning solution, sterilization can be enhanced more than when using a cleaning solution containing sodium hydroxide.

Further, the manifold valve 21 is connected to a downstream return pipe 22b provided with a heater H2 for heating the medicine during CIP, which will be described later. A downstream supply mechanism 24b is provided upstream of the downstream return pipe 22b to supply a drug or the like when performing CIP. A downstream introduction pipe 26b that connects the downstream supply mechanism 24b and the downstream return pipe 22b is connected to the downstream supply mechanism 24b. It is configured to supply medicine or the like. A drain pipe 27b is connected to the downstream return pipe 22b to receive the drug or the like that has passed through the filling nozzle 6a of the filling device 6 during CIP. A cup 11 configured to be detachable from each filling nozzle 6a is attached to the drain pipe 27b. This cup 11 is placed over the filling nozzle 6a by an actuator (not shown) during CIP. Thereby, the drain pipe 27b is connected to the filling nozzle 6a. With such a configuration, the downstream supply pipe 20b, the downstream return pipe 22b, and the drain pipe 27b form a downstream circulation system (second circulation system) 25b for performing CIP. Also in the downstream circulation system 25b, sealing members such as packings are provided at the connection points of the respective pipes and members to prevent beverages from leaking out. In this case, also in the downstream circulation system 25b, as a sealing member, for example, fluorine resin (PTFE), EPDM, NBR, H-NBR, silicone, fluorine-based rubber packing, or various rubbers coated with PTFE can be used. .

During CIP, the same alkaline cleaning liquid as the chemical supplied to the bypass pipe 23a by the upstream supply mechanism 24a may be used as the chemical supplied to the downstream return pipe 22b by the downstream supply mechanism 24b. can be done.

A temperature sensor 12 is connected to the upstream supply pipe 20a, the upstream return pipe 22a, the downstream supply pipe 20b, the downstream return pipe 22b, and the drain pipe 27b. The temperature sensor 12 may be arranged, for example, at a location where the temperature does not easily rise when hot water or the like is supplied therein. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the temperature sensor 12 is arranged between the holding tube 33 of the UHT 3 and the first cooling section 34 or the like. Note that the temperature sensor 12 may be provided at locations other than the upstream supply pipe 20a, the upstream return pipe 22a, the downstream supply pipe 20b, the downstream return pipe 22b, and the drain pipe 27b. For example, the temperature sensor 12 may be provided in the filling nozzle 6 a of the filling device 6 . Information on temperatures measured by these temperature sensors 12 is transmitted to a control device (not shown).

In addition to the above-described manifold valve 21 and actuators (not shown), various switching valves, pumps, etc. are provided in the product supply system piping 20 and the like, and these are also controlled by signals from a control device (not shown). .

Note that the content filling system 100 described above may be a high-temperature filling system that fills the content at a high temperature of 85°C or higher and less than 100°C. Alternatively, it may be a medium-temperature filling system in which contents are filled at a medium temperature of 55°C or more and less than 85°C.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Here, a deodorizing method for deodorizing the content filling system 100 by CIP will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5. FIG. In addition, in FIGS. 2 to 5, piping through which water and chemicals pass is indicated by thick lines.

First, after the filling of the beverage in the content filling system 100 is completed, an operation button of the control device (not shown) is operated. As a result, as will be described later, CIP is performed according to predetermined procedures in the upstream circulatory system 25a and the downstream circulatory system 25b (see FIGS. 2 to 5). At this time, the manifold valve 21 is switched, the upstream supply pipe 20a and the upstream return pipe 22a are communicated (see FIGS. 2 and 3), and the downstream supply pipe 20b and the downstream return pipe 22b are communicated ( 4 and 5). The CIP of the upstream circulatory system 25a and the CIP of the downstream circulatory system 25b may be performed in sequence or in parallel. Here, first, the CIP of the upstream circulation system 25a will be described.

(First rinsing step)
First, as shown in FIG. 2, water (first rinsing water for the first circulation system) is supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a. At this time, first, water is supplied into the balance tank 2 from the upstream supply mechanism 24a through the upstream introduction pipe 26a. The water supplied to the balance tank 2 is sent to the UHT 3 through the upstream supply pipe 20a and heated by the UHT 3. At this time, the water is heated to a temperature of 30° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower, for example, 50° C. By heating the water to a temperature of 30° C. or higher, the previous beverage remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently washed away. As a result, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed in the chemical circulation step, which will be described later. Also, by setting the water temperature to 100° C. or less, energy saving and cost reduction can be achieved. At this time, water may be supplied into the balance tank 2 from a pipe (not shown) or the like without using the upstream circulation system 25a.

Next, the water heated by the UHT 3 passes through the manifold valve 21 through the upstream supply pipe 20a. Subsequently, the heated water is supplied to the upstream return pipe 22a, passes through the upstream return pipe 22a, and is discharged to the outside as a waste liquid from the upstream supply mechanism 24a. At this time, heat exchange may be performed between the water to be supplied and the water to be discharged to the outside in the upstream side supply mechanism 24a.

When water is supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a as described above, the time for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a may be 5 minutes or more and 30 minutes or less, for example 5 minutes. By setting the time for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a to be 5 minutes or longer, the previous beverage remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be effectively washed away. Further, by setting the time for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a to 30 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

(Drug circulation process)
Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the drug (first circulatory system drug) is supplied and circulated in the upstream circulatory system 25a. At this time, first, the medicine is supplied into the balance tank 2 from the upstream supply mechanism 24a through the upstream introduction pipe 26a. In this case, as the chemical, an alkaline cleaning solution containing 0.1 to 10% by mass of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, or an alkaline cleaning solution containing sodium hypochlorite with a chlorine concentration of 100 to 3000 ppm can be used. . At this time, the medicine may be supplied into the balance tank 2 from a pipe (not shown) or the like without using the upstream supply mechanism 24a.

The medicine supplied to the balance tank 2 passes through the balance tank 2 and is heated by the heater H1 provided downstream of the balance tank 2 . Moreover, the medicine heated by the heater H1 is sent to the UHT3 through the upstream supply pipe 20a, and is further heated by the UHT3. At this time, the drug is heated to a temperature of, for example, 70°C or higher and 150°C or lower, preferably 90°C or higher and 145°C or lower, for example, 140°C. By heating the chemical to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed, and by heating the chemical to a temperature of 90° C. or higher, the upstream circulation system 25a can be heated. Remaining flavors can be removed more efficiently. Further, by setting the temperature of the drug to 150° C. or lower, energy can be saved, and by setting the temperature of the drug to 145° C. or lower, further energy saving can be achieved. It is possible to reduce thermal damage to each pipe, each member and sealing member. The medicine supplied to the balance tank 2 may be sent to the UHT 3 and heated by the UHT 3 without being heated by the heater H1.

The heated drug then passes through UHT 3 and manifold valve 21 through upstream supply line 20a. At this time, the heated medicine is supplied to the upstream return pipe 22a and supplied to the bypass pipe 23a connected to the upstream return pipe 22a. Then, the medicine is supplied into the balance tank 2 through the bypass pipe 23a. Thus, the drug circulates through the upstream circulation system 25a. The medicine may be supplied to the heater H1 through the bypass pipe 23a and circulated in the upstream circulation system 25a by a pipe or the like (not shown). Thereafter, after circulating in the upstream circulation system 25a for a predetermined period of time, the chemical is discharged outside as a waste liquid from the upstream supply mechanism 24a (see FIG. 2). In this case, the time for which the drug is supplied and circulated in the upstream circulation system 25a may be 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less, for example 15 minutes. By setting the time for supplying and circulating the medicine in the upstream circulation system 25a to 5 minutes or more, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be effectively removed. Further, by setting the time for supplying and circulating the medicine in the first circulation system 25a to 60 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

By the way, as described above, the blending device 1 blends, for example, a fruit drink or the like as a beverage. Among such beverages, there are beverages containing many flavors. Flavors include ethyl butyrate, 2-methylbutyrate, isoamyl acetate, limonene, ethyl caproate, isoamyl butyrate, hexyl acetate, allyl caproate, octylaldehyde, decylaldehyde and the like. Representative flavors, among others, include ethyl butyrate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate and limonene. In addition, there is a case where a flavor-free beverage such as mineral water or green tea is filled next to such a flavor-rich beverage. At this time, if the flavor remains in the upstream circulation system 25a, there is a problem that the remaining flavor will enter the next beverage and the aroma of the previous beverage will adhere to the next beverage.

In particular, as described above, in the upstream circulation system 25a, packings made of fluororesin, for example, are provided as seal members at the connection points of each pipe and each member. Moreover, as described above, when the beverage is filled into the container 9 (see FIG. 1), the beverage is heated to a temperature of approximately 60° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower by the UHT 3 . At this time, for example, the packing provided at the connection point of each pipe may thermally expand, creating a gap between each pipe and the packing.
In this way, when a gap is generated between each pipe and the packing, the flavor may enter the gap. In this case, when the packing is cooled and shrunk, there is a possibility that the flavor that has entered the gap will adhere to the packing and intervene between each pipe and the packing. Further, even if the chemical agent is supplied to and circulated in the upstream circulation system 25a, it may be difficult to remove the flavor present between each pipe and the packing. Then, the flavor that has entered such a gap may enter the next beverage through the gap between each pipe and the packing caused by the thermal expansion of the packing when the next beverage is filled.

In contrast, according to the present embodiment, by heating the chemical to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed. That is, by heating the medicine to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the packing can be caused to undergo thermal expansion similar to the thermal expansion of the packing that occurs when the beverage is filled. As a result, it is possible to effectively remove the flavor that has entered the gap generated when the packing thermally expands. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the problem that the aroma of the previous beverage is attached to the next beverage. In this case, in order to obtain a higher deodorizing effect, it is effective to rinse with water having a temperature equal to or higher than the sterilization temperature of the previous product. In addition, by heating the chemical to a temperature of 70° C. or higher and supplying and circulating the chemical in the upstream circulation system 25a for 5 minutes or more, each pipe and each member of the upstream circulation system 25a Can be sterilized. This makes it possible to omit SIP, which is normally performed after CIP. Therefore, downtime can be shortened.

It should be noted that cleaning with an acidic cleaning liquid may be performed before or after cleaning with an alkaline cleaning liquid, if necessary. Further, for example, cleaning with an acidic cleaning liquid may be followed by cleaning with an alkaline cleaning liquid, and then cleaning with an acidic cleaning liquid may be further performed. Further, after cleaning with the alkaline cleaning liquid, cleaning with the acidic cleaning liquid may be performed, and then cleaning with the alkaline cleaning liquid may be further performed.

(Second rinsing step)
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, water (second rinsing water for the first circulation system) is supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a. At this time, water is supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a in the same manner as in the first rinsing step described above. In this case, the water is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or higher and 150° C. or lower, for example 140° C., in the upstream circulation system 25a. By heating the water to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed. That is, among the flavors mentioned above, there are water-soluble flavors such as, for example, ethyl butyrate and ethyl 2-methylbutyrate. In this case, by heating the water to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the water-soluble flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed.
Therefore, the deodorizing effect can be improved. Further, in this case, by heating the water to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, as described in the chemical circulation step, it is possible to remove the flavor that has entered the gap generated when the packing thermally expands. Moreover, energy saving can be achieved by setting the water temperature to 150° C. or less. Also in this case, water may be supplied into the balance tank 2 from a pipe (not shown) or the like without using the upstream supply mechanism 24a.

Also, the time period for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a may be 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less, such as 10 minutes. By setting the time for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a to be 5 minutes or more, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be effectively removed. Further, by setting the time for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a to 60 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

(Third rinsing step)
Further, if necessary, water (third rinsing water for the first circulation system) may be supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a after the above-described second rinsing step. At this time, water is supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a in the same manner as in the first rinsing step and the second rinsing step described above. In this case, the water is heated to a temperature of, for example, 30° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower, such as 40° C., in the upstream circulation system 25a. By heating the water to a temperature of 30° C. or higher, the water-soluble flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be removed more efficiently, and the deodorizing effect can be improved. Also, by setting the water temperature to 100° C. or less, energy saving and cost reduction can be achieved. Also in this case, water may be supplied into the balance tank 2 from a pipe (not shown) or the like without using the upstream supply mechanism 24a.

Also, the time period for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a may be 5 minutes or more and 120 minutes or less, such as 10 minutes. By setting the water supply time to the upstream circulation system 25a for 5 minutes or more, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be more effectively removed, and the deodorizing effect can be improved. Further, by setting the time for supplying water to the upstream circulation system 25a to 120 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened and energy can be saved.

In this way, the CIP of the upstream circulation system 25a is performed, the CIP removes the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a, and the upstream circulation system 25a is deodorized.

Next, the CIP of the downstream circulation system 25b will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the cup 11 is placed over the filling nozzle 6a. This connects the drain pipe 27b to the filling nozzle 6a.

(First rinsing step)
Next, water (first rinsing water for the second circulation system) is supplied to the downstream circulation system 25b. At this time, first, water is supplied from the downstream supply mechanism 24b to the downstream return pipe 22b through the downstream introduction pipe 26b. The water supplied to the downstream return pipe 22b is heated by the heater H2. At this time, the water is heated to a temperature of, for example, 40° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower, for example, 40° C. By heating the water to a temperature of 40° C. or higher, the previous beverage remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be efficiently washed away. As a result, the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be efficiently removed in the chemical circulation step, which will be described later. Also, by setting the water temperature to 100° C. or less, energy saving and cost reduction can be achieved.

The heated water then passes through the manifold valve 21 through the downstream return line 22b. At this time, the heated water is supplied to the downstream supply pipe 20b, passes through the downstream supply pipe 20b, the surge tank 4, the head tank 5, the filling device 6 and the drain pipe 27b, and is discharged from the downstream supply mechanism 24b as a waste liquid. It is discharged outside.

When water is supplied to the downstream circulation system 25b as described above, the time for supplying water to the downstream circulation system 25b may be 5 minutes or more and 30 minutes or less, for example 5 minutes. By setting the water supply time to the downstream circulation system 25b to be 5 minutes or longer, the previous beverage remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be effectively washed away. Further, by setting the time for supplying water to the downstream circulation system 25b to 30 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

(Drug circulation process)
Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the drug (second circulatory system drug) is supplied to and circulated in the downstream circulatory system 25b. At this time, first, the drug is supplied from the downstream supply mechanism 24b to the downstream return pipe 22b through the downstream introduction pipe 26b. As the chemical, an alkaline cleaning liquid similar to the chemical used when performing CIP on the upstream circulation system 25a can be used. The medicine supplied to the downstream return pipe 22b is heated by the heater H2. At this time, the drug is heated to a temperature of, for example, 70° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower, for example, 80° C. By heating the chemical to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be removed.
Also, by setting the temperature of the chemical to 100° C. or less, energy saving and cost reduction can be achieved. Also, in this case, as in the case of the upstream circulation system 25a described above, by heating the chemical to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the flavor that has entered the gap generated when the packing thermally expands is effectively removed. It is possible to suppress the problem that the aroma of the previous beverage is attached to the next beverage. In particular, packing made of ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) can be used in the downstream circulation system 25b. Flavor tends to adhere to this ethylene propylene diene rubber, and the flavor tends to remain in the downstream circulation system 25b. On the other hand, by heating the chemical to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the flavor adhering to the packing can be effectively removed. In addition, SIP can be omitted by heating the drug to a temperature of 70° C. or higher and supplying and circulating the drug in the downstream circulation system 25b for 5 minutes or longer, thereby shortening downtime. can do.

The heated medicament then passes through manifold valve 21 and through downstream supply line 20 b , surge tank 4 , head tank 5 and filling device 6 . Then, it is supplied to the downstream return pipe 22b through the drain pipe 27b. Thus, the drug circulates through the downstream circulation system 25b. After that, the drug circulates in the downstream circulation system 25b for a predetermined period of time, and then is discharged outside as a waste liquid from the downstream supply mechanism 24b (see FIG. 4). In this case, the time for which the drug is supplied and circulated in the downstream circulation system 25b may be 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less, for example 15 minutes. By setting the time for supplying and circulating the medicine in the downstream circulation system 25b to 5 minutes or more, the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be effectively removed. Further, by setting the time for supplying and circulating the medicine in the downstream circulation system 25b to 60 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

As in the upstream circulation system 25a, cleaning with an acidic cleaning liquid may be performed before and after cleaning with an alkaline cleaning liquid, if necessary. Further, for example, cleaning with an acidic cleaning liquid may be followed by cleaning with an alkaline cleaning liquid, and then cleaning with an acidic cleaning liquid may be further performed. Further, after cleaning with the alkaline cleaning liquid, cleaning with the acidic cleaning liquid may be performed, and then cleaning with the alkaline cleaning liquid may be further performed.

(Second rinsing step)
Next, as shown in FIG. 4, water (second rinsing water for the second circulation system) is supplied to the downstream circulation system 25b. At this time, water is supplied to the downstream circulation system 25b similarly to the second rinsing step in the downstream circulation system 25b described above. In this case, water is heated to a temperature of 40° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower, for example, 90° C., in the downstream circulation system 25b. By heating water to a temperature of 40° C. or higher, water-soluble flavors remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be efficiently removed as in the case of the upstream circulation system 25a. Therefore, the deodorizing effect can be improved. In addition, by setting the water temperature to 100° C. or less, the surge tank 4 and the like can be handled as a second-class pressure vessel instead of a first-class pressure vessel, so that the deodorizing process can be carried out at low cost. can.

Moreover, the time for supplying water to the downstream circulation system 25b may be 5 minutes or more and 60 minutes or less, and may be 10 minutes as an example. By setting the time for supplying water to the downstream circulation system 25b to 5 minutes or more, the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be effectively removed. Further, by setting the time for supplying water to the downstream circulation system 25b to 60 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

(Third rinsing step)
Further, if necessary, water (third rinsing water for the second circulation system) may be supplied to the downstream circulation system 25b after the above-described second rinsing step in the downstream circulation system 25b. At this time, water is supplied to the downstream circulation system 25b similarly to the first rinsing process and the second rinsing process in the downstream circulation system 25b described above. In this case, the water is heated to a temperature of 40° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower, for example, 40° C., in the downstream circulation system 25b. By heating the water to a temperature of 40° C. or higher, the water-soluble flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be removed more efficiently, and the deodorizing effect can be improved. Moreover, energy saving can be achieved by setting the water temperature to 100° C. or less.

Moreover, the time for which water is supplied to the downstream circulation system 25b may be 5 minutes or more and 120 minutes or less, for example 10 minutes. By setting the water supply time to the downstream circulation system 25b to 5 minutes or more, the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be more effectively removed, and the deodorizing effect can be improved. Further, by setting the time for supplying water to the downstream circulation system 25b to 120 minutes or less, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

In this way, the CIP of the downstream circulation system 25b is performed, the CIP removes the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b, and the downstream circulation system 25b is deodorized.

( Deodorization confirmation process )
Further, a deodorizing confirmation step may be provided to check whether the deodorizing effect is sufficient. In this deodorization confirmation step, water is first sent to the content filling system 100 . At this time, the water is fed while the temperature at the outlet of the UHT 3 is lowered from the temperature (for example, 140° C.) during the second rinsing step in the upstream circulation system 25a to about 80° C. or higher and 90° C. or lower. Then, it can be performed by sampling water from the drain pipe 27b at the outlet of the filling device 6 and confirming whether or not the odor is removed. At this time, a sensor capable of distinguishing odors may be provided. Alternatively, the container may be filled with water by the filling device 6 and the odor may be confirmed. If the result of this deodorization confirmation step is NG, CIP is performed again. Note that the deodorization confirmation step may be performed separately in the upstream circulation system 25a and the downstream circulation system 25b.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the medicine is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or higher in the upstream circulation system 25a in the medicine circulation step in the upstream circulation system 25a. As a result, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed. Also, the temperature of the medicine is 150° C. or less in the upstream circulation system 25a. Thereby, energy saving can be achieved. It should be noted that the fact that the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed in this way will be explained in the examples described later.

Further, according to the present embodiment, in the chemical circulation step, the time for supplying and circulating the chemical in the upstream circulation system 25a or the downstream circulation system 25b is 5 minutes or longer. Thereby, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a or the downstream circulation system 25b can be effectively removed. Moreover, the time for supplying and circulating the drug in the upstream circulation system 25a or the downstream circulation system 25b is 60 minutes or less. As a result, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, water is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or higher in the upstream circulation system 25a in the second rinsing step. Further, water is heated to a temperature of 40° C. or higher in the downstream circulation system 25b. As a result, water-soluble flavors remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a or the downstream circulation system 25b can be efficiently removed. Also, the temperature of water is 150° C. or less in the upstream circulation system 25a. Also, the temperature of water is 100° C. or less in the downstream circulation system 25b. Thereby, energy saving can be achieved. It should be noted that the fact that the water-soluble flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed in this way will be explained in the examples described later.

Further, according to the present embodiment, in the second rinsing step, the time for which water is supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a or the downstream circulation system 25b is 5 minutes or longer. Thereby, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a or the downstream circulation system 25b can be effectively removed.
Moreover, the time for which water is supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a or the downstream circulation system 25b is 60 minutes or less. As a result, downtime can be shortened, and energy can be saved.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the chemical is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower in the chemical circulation step in the downstream circulation system 25b has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, in the above-described embodiment, assuming that the surge tank 4 of the downstream circulation system 25b and the like are treated as the second type pressure vessel, the chemical is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower. explained. On the other hand, when the surge tank 4 or the like of the downstream circulation system 25b is treated as a first class pressure vessel, in the chemical circulation process of the downstream circulation system 25b, the chemical is heated to a temperature of, for example, 70°C or higher and 150°C or lower, for example, 130°C. It may be heated. Even in this case, by heating the chemical to a temperature of 70° C. or higher, the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be efficiently removed, and by setting the temperature of the chemical to 150° C. or lower, energy can be saved. can be planned. Further, by heating the chemical to a high temperature of 130° C., for example, the flavor remaining in the downstream circulation system 25b can be removed more efficiently.

Moreover, in the embodiment described above, an example in which the content filling system 100 is provided with the manifold valve 21 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, CIP from the UHT 3 to the filling device 6 may be performed simultaneously without providing the manifold valve 21 .

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the content filling system 100 may further include a carbonation line 40 provided with a carbonation device 41 for adding carbonation to the beverage. In this case, the carbonic acid line 40 is connected to the downstream supply pipe 20b via a manifold valve 21b provided between the surge tank 4 and the head tank 5. As shown in FIG. As a result, as indicated by the thick line in FIG. 6, the beverage passes through the downstream supply pipe 20b and is supplied to the carbonation line 40, where carbonation is added by the carbonation device 41. As shown in FIG. The carbonated beverage is supplied from the carbonated line 40 through the manifold valve 21 b to the downstream supply pipe 20 b and the head tank 5 , and filled into the container 9 by the filling device 6 .

In addition, in the content filling system 100 , if only the head tank 5 is provided without the surge tank 4 , the above-described manifold valve 21 b may be provided downstream of the head tank 5 .

In CIP, the heating device for heating water may be, for example, an aseptic water sterilizer used in an aseptic filling machine for bottle rinsing, cap rinsing, etc., or may be another product heat sterilizer.

Also, the UHT 3 may be of the injection type or the infusion type, and the heat exchanger used for heat exchange in the filling system 100, such as the heat exchanger of the UHT 3, may be of the plate type or the shell and tube type.

Next, specific examples of the present invention will be described.

(Example)
First, a fruit beverage was supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a of the content filling system 100, which has the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and was circulated in the upstream circulation system 25a for 4 hours.

At this time, the supply temperature of the fruit drink is 20°C, the temperature of the fruit drink heated by the holding tube 33 of the UHT3 is 115°C, and the temperature of the fruit drink that has passed through the second cooling section 35 is 30°C. there were.

Next, the fruit drink was discharged outside from the upstream supply mechanism 24a, and CIP was performed on the upstream circulation system 25a. At this time, first, as a first rinsing step, water at 15° C. was supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a for 5 minutes.

Next, as a chemical circulation step, the chemical was supplied to and circulated in the upstream circulation system 25a. At this time, the medicine was supplied and circulated in the upstream circulation system 25a for 15 minutes. At this time, an alkaline cleaning solution containing 2% by mass of sodium hydroxide was used as a chemical. The temperature of the drug heated by the holding tube 33 of UHT3 was 140°C.

Next, as a second rinsing step, water was supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a for 10 minutes. At this time, the temperature of the water heated by the holding tube 33 of UHT3 was 140°C.

Then, as a third rinsing step, water at 15° C. was supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a for 10 minutes. Also, the water used in the third rinse step was recovered to obtain sample data.

As representative flavors, the contents of ethyl butyrate, 2-methylbutyrate and limonene contained in the obtained sample data were measured (Table 1).

(Comparative example)
In the chemical circulation step, the temperature of the chemical heated by the holding tube 33 of the UHT 3 was 80° C. As the second rinsing step, 15° C. water was supplied to the upstream circulation system 25a for 20 minutes; CIP of the upstream circulation system 25a was performed in the same manner as in Example except that the water used in the second rinsing step was collected to obtain sample data and the third rinsing step was not performed. In addition, the contents of ethyl butyrate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate and limonene contained in the obtained sample data were measured (Table 1).

Here, Table 1 shows the contents of ethyl butyrate, 2-methylbutyrate and limonene contained in the sample data obtained in Comparative Examples, and the contents of ethyl butyrate, 2-methyl butyrate, and 2-methyl butyrate contained in sample data obtained in Examples. It shows the percentage content of ethyl butyrate and limonene.

As shown in Table 1, in the example, the content of ethyl butyrate in the rinse water was reduced to 19% compared to the comparative example. Also, in the example, the content of ethyl 2-methylbutyrate in the rinse water could be reduced to 33% compared to the comparative example. Furthermore, the content of limonene contained in the rinse water was reduced to 75% compared to the comparative example.

Thus, in the embodiment, the flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed. Especially, in the second rinsing step, by heating the water to a temperature of 140° C., the water-soluble flavor remaining in the upstream circulation system 25a can be efficiently removed.

It is also possible to appropriately combine a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments and modifications as necessary. Alternatively, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the above embodiments and modifications.

3 UHT
6 filling device 25a first circulation system 25b second circulation system 100 contents filling system

Claims (2)

In a deodorizing method for deodorizing a content filling system by CIP,
The content filling system includes:
a first circulation system including at least a heat sterilizer that heats the beverage;
A tank in which the beverage heated by the heat sterilizer is stored, a manifold valve provided downstream of the tank, and a filling device provided downstream of the manifold valve and filling the container with contents. a second circulatory system comprising at least
A carbonation device for adding carbonation to the beverage is provided, and a carbonation line connected to the second circulation system via the manifold valve ,
The manifold valve is configured to switch flow paths between the second circulation system and the carbonate line,
The deodorizing method is
a first rinsing step of supplying first rinsing water for the second circulation system to the second circulation system;
a drug circulation step of supplying and circulating the drug for the second circulatory system in the second circulatory system;
a second rinsing step of supplying second rinsing water for the second circulation system to the second circulation system;
In the second circulation system, a tank for storing the beverage heated by the heat sterilizer is not provided downstream of the manifold valve,
In the drug circulation step, the drug for the second circulatory system is heated to a temperature of 70° C. or higher and 100° C. or lower in the second circulatory system,
The deodorizing method , wherein in the second rinsing step, the second rinsing water for the second circulation system is heated to a temperature of 40°C or higher and 100°C or lower in the second circulation system . The deodorizing method according to claim 1, wherein the first circulation system is not provided with a tank in which the beverage heated by the heat sterilizer is stored.

Images