JPH03256829A - Method and device for sterilizing container wiht ozone - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To sterilize a container extremely rapidly with ozone in a gaseous state by a method wherein a spray of ozone-containing sterilizing gas is shot out from a nozzle to the surface of the container to be sterilized and bacteria are destroyed in a stream of the sterilizing gas while the gas is being recovered after use for sterilization. CONSTITUTION:A PET bottle B to be sterilized is inserted into the insertion hole of an air discharge case 15 and the neck part of the PET bottle B is sealingly fitted thereinto with an O-ring or silicone rubber bottom plate to form a sealed chamber 14. A nozzle 20 is simultaneously inserted into the PET bottle B. A sterilizing gas G containing the ozone gas having at least 6000ppm is sent preseurized into the nozzle 20 by a pump 13. A spray of the sterilizing gas G is shot out from an orifice 21 of the nozzle 20 to the inner surface of the PET bottle B, whereby the sterilizing gas G destroys bacteria in direct contact with the inner surface of the bottle B without forming boundary layer thereon. After completion of the sterilization, the sterilizing gas G is sent through an opening part (b) back into the air discharge case 15 and, from there, it is sent from an air outlet through an air discharge pipe 23 into an ozone killer 24 for recovery therein.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] This invention relates to a method and device for sterilizing containers using ozone gas, which enables sterilization in a very short time while in the gas state, and is particularly suitable for ultraviolet sterilization and It is suitable for sterilizing PET bottles and the like that cannot be sterilized by heat.

[Prior Art] Food containers and the like have traditionally been sterilized before use, and in many cases, liquid sterilizers are used to sterilize them.

For example, when sterilizing polyethylene terephthalate bottles (hereinafter referred to as PET bottles) used to hold soft drinks, etc., UV sterilization or heat sterilization should be performed because UV rays irradiated from the outside do not pass through them and the heat resistance temperature is low. Since this is not possible, we use hydrogen peroxide solution to sterilize.

However, when hydrogen peroxide is used, there is a problem in that if even a small amount remains in the PET bottle, it is harmful to the human body.

Therefore, it has been considered to perform sterilization using ozone (ozone gas), which poses no danger to the human body because even if it remains, it becomes a gas and is diffused.

Normally, in a sterilization method using gas, a sterilization chamber is filled with sterilization gas to create a sterilization gas atmosphere of a predetermined concentration, and a container to be sterilized, such as a PET bottle, is placed in this sterilization gas atmosphere.
Sterilization is carried out by so-called fumigation.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Therefore, regarding sterilization using ozone, it is possible to create a highly concentrated ozone gas atmosphere and place PET bottles etc. in it, but even if ozone is used in the gas state, the sterilization power is still low. sterilization is weak, and the container to be sterilized cannot be sterilized even if it is placed in an ozone gas atmosphere.

Therefore, it is necessary to make ozonated water by absorbing ozone into water and use this ozonated water for sterilization.

Therefore, although danger to the human body can be avoided, large-scale equipment is required, and post-treatment such as drying is also required after sterilization with ozonated water.

In view of this current situation, we conducted research on sterilization methods using ozone gas and found that spraying ozone gas in a flowing state rather than in a static state is important in increasing the sterilization effect.

Furthermore, in a sterilizer using ozone gas, it is necessary to supply the sterilizing gas in a fluid state and to recover the gas after sterilization without leaking it to the outside.

However, with conventional fumigation gas sterilizers, the container is simply placed in a sterilizing gas atmosphere, and there is no major problem with the device itself as long as the sterilizing effect is not an issue, but ozone gas can be used to achieve a large sterilizing effect. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to develop a device that can supply gas into the interior of a container such as a PET bottle with a small opening and recover the gas without leaking it to the outside while keeping it flowing.

The present invention was made in view of the problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a method and apparatus for sterilizing containers using ozone, which uses ozone in a gaseous state and can obtain great sterilizing power and sterilize containers in a short period of time. It is something to do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the problems of the prior art described above, the method of sterilizing containers using ozone of the present invention sprays a sterilizing gas containing ozone into the containers to be sterilized through a nozzle. It is characterized in that sterilization is carried out in a state where the sterilizing gas is flowing while collecting the sterilizing gas after sterilization from the opening.

Further, the ozone-based container sterilizer of the present invention includes a sterilizing gas supply means for supplying a sterilizing gas containing ozone, and a mounting hole into which the opening of the container to be sterilized is mounted, and the outside of this opening is formed. An exhaust box that covers the container to form a sealed chamber; a nozzle that penetrates the exhaust box and is inserted into the container to be sterilized to form multiple outlets and sprays sterilizing gas; and after sterilizing the container to be sterilized, the gas flows into the exhaust box. and recovery means for exhausting and recovering the sterilizing gas.

Furthermore, the apparatus for sterilizing containers using ozone according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of opening mounting holes are formed in the exhaust box, thereby making it possible to sterilize a plurality of containers at the same time.

[Operation] According to this method of sterilizing containers using ozone, a sterilizing gas containing ozone is vigorously sprayed from a nozzle onto the surface of the container to be sterilized, and the sterilizing gas is kept flowing while collecting the gas after sterilization. It is sterilized using gaseous ozone, which has great sterilizing power and can be sterilized in a very short time.

In addition, according to this ozone-based container sterilization device, the opening of the container to be sterilized is covered with an exhaust box to keep it in a sealed state.
A nozzle is placed inside this container, and the sterilizing gas supply means sprays forcefully onto the surface of the container to be sterilized, and the sterilized gas is exhausted and recovered from the exhaust box by the recovery means, while the ozone gas is flowing. It can sterilize, has great sterilizing power, and can sterilize in a very short time.

Furthermore, by forming multiple mounting holes in the exhaust box and attaching containers to be sterilized to each, it is possible to sterilize a large number of containers at the same time, improving work efficiency. I have to.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a container sterilization apparatus using ozone according to the present invention.

This container sterilizer 10 using ozone is applied to a PET bottle B sterilizer.

This ozone sterilization device 10 for containers uses ozone (03
) is provided with a sterilizing gas supply means 11 for supplying a sterilizing gas G containing the following:

The second ozonizer 12 uses, for example, high-purity oxygen gas or a mixed gas of oxygen gas and an inert gas such as nitrogen as the raw material gas, and ozone gas is
A sterilizing gas containing approximately 0.000 ppm is produced.

The sterilizing gas G thus produced is pressurized by the pump 13.

The apparatus 10 for sterilizing containers using ozone is also equipped with an exhaust box 15 that covers the opening of the PET bottle B as the container to be sterilized and forms a sealed chamber 14 around it.

This exhaust box 15, for example, as shown in FIG. 2(a),
A mounting hole 16 through which the opening of the PET bottle B can be inserted is formed at the bottom, an O-ring 17 is mounted around the mounting hole roller, and the opening of the PET bottle B is inserted into the mounting hole 16 of the exhaust box 15. and press the O-ring 17 against the neck of the PET bottle B.
5 can be kept in a sealed state.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the exhaust box 15 has a bottom plate made of an elastic material such as a silicone rubber bottom plate 18, and a mounting hole 16 formed in the center thereof.
The interior of the exhaust box 15 may be sealed by pressing the silicone rubber bottom plate 18 against the neck portion of the PET bottle B.

An exhaust hole 19 is formed in the side wall of the exhaust box 15 to keep the sterilizing gas G constantly flowing by exhausting and recovering the sterilizing gas G after sterilization.

Further, a nozzle 20 is attached to the upper plate of the exhaust box 15 for penetrating the upper plate in a sealed state and spraying the sterilizing gas G onto the inner surface of the PET bottle B.

As shown in FIG. 1, this nozzle 20 includes a main pipe long enough to enter the PET bottle B up to near the bottom, and has a plurality of air outlets 21 formed in the middle thereof.

Further, in this ozone container sterilization device 10, an exhaust pipe 23 is attached to the exhaust hole 19 of the exhaust box 15 as a recovery means 22 for exhausting and recovering the sterilizing gas G.
An ozone killer 24 is provided at the tip of the exhaust pipe 23 to prevent ozone gas from being released into the atmosphere or to recover and reuse ozone.

Next, the operation of the ozone container sterilizer 10 configured as described above and the sterilization method will be described.

First, the PET bottle B to be sterilized is inserted into the mounting hole 16 of the exhaust box 15 and pressed, and the O-ring 17 and silicone rubber bottom plate 18 are pressed against the neck of the PET bottle B to create a sealed state and form the sealed chamber 14. , inside it P
Position the opening of ET bottle B. At the same time,
The nozzle 20 is placed inside the PET bottle B.

After the preparations are completed in this way, ozone is generated by the ozonizer 12 so that its concentration becomes 6000 ppH1 or more.

Thereafter, a sterilizing gas G containing ozone gas of 6000 ppm or more is supplied under pressure to the nozzle 20 by the pump 13.

Then, the sterilizing gas G containing ozone is vigorously blown onto the inner surface of the PET bottle B from the outlet 21 of the nozzle 20, whereby the sterilizing gas G is brought into direct contact with the surface of the PET bottle B without creating a boundary layer. Sterilization takes place.

Then, the sterilizing gas G that sterilized the inside of the PET bottle B returns to the exhaust box 15 through the opening, and from one exhaust hole to the exhaust pipe 2.
3, the exhaust gas is collected by the ozone killer 24.

For this reason, by continuously supplying the sterilizing gas G with the pump 13, the sterilizing gas G inside the PET bottle B does not remain stationary and stagnate, but is always in a flowing state, achieving great sterilizing power. be able to.

Then, the exhaust box 15 is placed over the opening of the PET bottle B to be sterilized, and the O-ring 17 or the silicone rubber bottom plate 18 as a sealing member is pressed against the opening, so that the sterilizing ozone gas G is removed. It is possible to sterilize ozone gas in a fluid state without leaking it to the outside.

In addition, since it can be sterilized by using it as a gas without converting it into ozonated water, the equipment is simple and sterilization can be easily performed without the need for post-treatment.

[Experimental Example] The following experiment was conducted to examine the effectiveness of sterilization by spraying from a nozzle.

Experimental conditions Test bacteria Bacillus subtilis spore A: Test bacteria were exposed to an ozone gas atmosphere with a concentration of 1400 pp.

B: Concentration of ozone from the nozzle to the test bacteria is 2000pp.
■Alternatively, spray sterilizing gas at 60 C1Oppm.

For these experimental conditions A and H, the processing time was 30 seconds, 5
The sterilization status was examined by changing the time to minutes and 6 hours.

As a result, the results shown in the following table were obtained, and it was confirmed that by spraying the sterilizing gas G containing ozone from the nozzle, sufficient sterilizing power could be obtained in a very short time.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which one PET bottle B is to be sterilized, but an apparatus for simultaneously sterilizing a plurality of PET bottles B will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The exhaust box 35 shown in FIG. 3 is a combination of a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of the exhaust boxes 15 described in FIG. In addition, each partition plate 36 is provided with a communication hole 37 for exhaust. A mounting hole 16 is formed at the bottom of each sealed chamber 14, similar to the exhaust box 15 shown in FIG. 1, and around the mounting hole 16. A ring 17 is attached. In addition, each sealed room 1
Similar to the exhaust box 15 shown in FIG. 1, a nozzle 20 is attached to the upper plate of 4 so as to pass through the upper plate in a sealed state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust box 35 configured in this manner is connected to the sterilizing gas supply means 11 and the recovery means 22 for sterilization, thereby making it possible to sterilize four PET bottles B at the same time. can.

And if the exhaust box 35 is made even larger,
It is also possible to increase the number of sterilized bottles.

Next, the exhaust box 45 shown in FIG. 4 is made by enlarging the exhaust box 15 explained in FIG. In this case, there is no need to attach a sealing material such as an O-ring, so only one sealed chamber 14 is provided.

By using such an exhaust box 45, four PET bottles B can be sterilized at the same time, and the configuration of the exhaust box 45 does not require a partition plate, etc., and can easily support simultaneous sterilization of multiple bottles. I can do it.

In the above embodiment, the nozzle that sprays the sterilizing gas containing ozone and the PET bottle are sterilized in a fixed state, but it is also possible to sterilize one of them while rotating.

Furthermore, the objects to be sterilized are not limited to PET bottles, but can be similarly applied when sterilizing other food containers, etc., and it is sufficient to prepare an exhaust box corresponding to the container.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that each component may be changed without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above in detail with the examples, according to the method for sterilizing containers using ozone of the present invention, the sterilizing gas containing ozone is vigorously sprayed from the nozzle onto the surface of the container to be sterilized. Since sterilization is carried out in a state where sterilizing gas is flowing while recovering the gas after sterilization, it is possible to obtain a large sterilizing power and sterilize containers in a very short time using gaseous ozone.

In addition, according to this ozone-based container sterilization device, the opening of the container to be sterilized is covered with an exhaust box to keep it in a sealed state.
A nozzle is placed inside this container, and the sterilizing gas supply means blows forcefully onto the surface of the container to be sterilized, and the sterilized gas is exhausted and recovered from the exhaust box by the recovery means, so that the ozone gas is sterilized while flowing. It has great sterilizing power and can sterilize containers in a very short time.

Furthermore, by forming a plurality of mounting holes in the exhaust box and attaching containers to be sterilized to each of them, a large number of containers can be sterilized at the same time, and work efficiency can be improved.

In addition, by sterilizing with such a sterilizing gas containing ozone gas, there is no problem and it is safe even if the ozone gas remains.

Furthermore, since sterilization can be performed with gaseous ozone, the configuration of the sterilizer can be simplified compared to when a liquid sterilizer is used.

In addition, containers such as PET bottles that cannot be sterilized by ultraviolet rays or heat can be sterilized easily.

Air outlet, 22: Collection means, 23 24 Niosin Killer Exhaust pipe,

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a container sterilization apparatus using ozone according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the exhaust box portion of an embodiment of the container sterilization device using ozone according to the present invention. 3 and 4 are respectively sectional views of the exhaust box portion of another embodiment of the ozone-based container sterilization apparatus of the present invention.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A sterilizing gas containing ozone is sprayed into the container to be sterilized from a nozzle, and sterilization is performed while the sterilizing gas is flowing through the container while collecting the sterilizing gas after sterilization from the opening of the container to be sterilized. A method of sterilizing containers using ozone. (2) A sterilizing gas supply means for supplying sterilizing gas containing ozone, and an exhaust box having a mounting hole into which the opening of the container to be sterilized is formed and covering the outside of this opening to form a sealed chamber. , a nozzle that penetrates the exhaust box and is inserted into the container to be sterilized and has a plurality of outlets and sprays sterilizing gas; and a recovery means that exhausts and recovers the sterilizing gas that has flowed into the exhaust box after sterilizing the container to be sterilized. A device for sterilizing containers using ozone, characterized by comprising: (3) The apparatus for sterilizing containers using ozone according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of opening mounting holes are formed in the exhaust box so that a plurality of containers can be sterilized at the same time.