Sterilization and application of the hottest drink

Sterilization and application of beverage bottle caps

after the reform and opening up, China's beverage industry has developed very rapidly, and the variety of beverages has gradually developed from simple carbonated beverages in the past to mineral water, fruit juice, fruit and vegetable juice beverages and functional beverages; The filling method has also developed from cold filling to hot filling, medium temperature filling, sterile cold filling, etc; The packaging form has also changed from a single glass bottle to today's cans, PET bottles, etc. For different products and different packaging forms, the sterilization treatment of packaging bottle caps is also very important. This paper discusses the sterilization methods of various beverage bottle caps currently used

I. ultraviolet sterilization

after being irradiated by ultraviolet light, the protein and nucleic acid of microorganisms absorb the energy of ultraviolet spectrum, which will lead to protein denaturation and microbial death

in the beverage filling production equipment, the capping machine is a capping machine or a capping machine to transport bottle caps. Install ultraviolet sterilization lamp on the upper part of the storage bin of the cap conveyor or the upper part of the conveyor belt. The bottle cap is exposed to ultraviolet radiation during the conveying process, and the place exposed to ultraviolet radiation can achieve better sterilization effect. Due to the poor light transmittance of the bottle cap, ultraviolet rays cannot penetrate the bottle cap and irradiate the other side of the bottle cap. Therefore, the bottle cap can only achieve partial sterilization, and the sterilization surface is random. In order to sterilize the surface of the bottle cap pertinently, an ultraviolet sterilization lamp is installed on the lower slide of the bottle cap of the capping machine or capping machine. The bottle cap here has been arranged in the same direction. The side of the ultraviolet radiation is the side of the bottle cap in contact with the beverage, which effectively improves the sterilization effect

ultraviolet sterilization equipment is simple, without supporting equipment, low cost, convenient operation and management, and widely used. Due to the structural characteristics of the slide and the killing characteristics of ultraviolet rays on microorganisms, ultraviolet sterilization is generally suitable for the following types of beverage bottle caps:

1. Carbonated beverages carbonated beverages contain CO2, which is acidic and can inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Therefore, the use of ultraviolet sterilization on the bottle caps of carbonated beverages can meet the demand. In the production of this method, the new bottle cap packaged in batch is poured into the storage bin of the cap conveyor, and the bottle cap is exposed to ultraviolet radiation and sterilization in the storage bin of the cap conveyor or on the conveyor belt; Ultraviolet sterilization lamp can also be set on the lower cover slide of the capping machine, so that the inner surface of the bottle cap can be exposed to ultraviolet radiation for sterilization, and then directly transmitted to the capping machine after sterilization

2. The state has formulated relatively strict regulations on the production of mineral water, in which the total number of colonies, mold count and Escherichia coli of mineral water are strictly limited to zero. Whether or not the mineral water has been filtered and sterilized, its total bacterial count, mold count and E. coli count must meet the national standards. Because mineral water only contains inorganic salts, does not contain microbial nutrients, and lacks nutrients for microbial production and development, ultraviolet sterilization can also be used for its bottle cap

3. There are various microorganisms (bacteria, mold, yeast, etc.) in high-temperature filled tea drinks, fruit juice drinks, tea drinks and fruit juice drinks, and the sterilization of drinks is to kill these microorganisms. At present, high-temperature short-time sterilization, also known as instantaneous sterilization, is generally used. High temperature filling is to make the beverage after instant sterilization cool in a temperature range of 85 ℃ ~ 92 ℃. The beverage bottle is filled with crystalline heat-resistant hot filling bottle, and the bottle cap is 85 ℃ heat-resistant bottle cap. The filling method adopts full bottle filling. After filling the cap (or screwing the cap), a bottle pouring device is added: the bottle body is poured 90 ° ~ 180 °, and the high temperature of the beverage itself is used to sterilize the inside of the bottle cap. Therefore, UV sterilization can also be used in the early treatment of bottle caps

second, hot water spray sterilization

heating sterilization is one of the most traditional methods of food preservation. If microbial cells are heated to a certain temperature, physiologically active substances in the cells (such as enzyme protein, nuclear protein, deoxyribonucleic acid, etc.) will denature and inactivate, thus losing their activity and dying. The heating temperature and time for killing microorganisms are obviously different according to the types of microorganisms, cell physiological state, cell concentration, etc. For killing a specific strain, increasing the sterilization temperature can shorten the heating time, and reducing the temperature requires extending the heating time. If the temperature is too low, it will not have a sterilization effect on some heat-resistant strains

hot water spray sterilization is to use the nozzle to spray hot water in multiple directions on the bottle cap, so as to remove the dust on the inner and outer surfaces of the bottle cap while sterilization. In the production of this method, the bottle cap after capping moves in the same direction in the bottle cap channel, and multiple groups of nozzles are set at the upper and lower parts of the channel. The nozzles spray hot water in multiple directions on the advancing bottle cap. The temperature of hot water is the sterilization temperature, and the time of receiving spray is the sterilization time

due to its high temperature resistance, the hot water temperature of the metal cover can exceed 85 ℃, and the spraying time can be reduced with the increase of the hot water temperature; For plastic bottle caps, the temperature of hot water is generally controlled at 85 ℃. After hot water sterilization, sterile air needs to be sprayed on the bottle cap to promote the drying of the bottle cap

hot water spray sterilization needs to provide hot water and sterile air, and needs corresponding supporting equipment. During production, it will consume heat energy and choose to assemble suitable fixtures, clamping blocks and a small amount of water resources. The commonly used general equipment is provided for it. Hot water spray sterilization can be used for the bottle cap treatment of high-temperature filled tea drinks and fruit juice drinks, and can also be used for the bottle cap sterilization of mineral water

III. ozone sterilization

ozone has strong oxidative properties, which can directly destroy the RNA or deoxynucleic acid of the virus and kill it. Ozone can also damage the cell membrane of bacteria and molds, inhibit their growth, and further penetrate and destroy the tissue in the membrane until the bacteria and molds die. Ozone dissolves in water, and the sterilization effect is very good in a high humidity environment. Ozone water can also be used to sterilize the bottle cap. Ozone water sterilization will be discussed later. The greater the concentration of ozone, the better the sterilization effect. When the ozone concentration is 4.0mg/m3, the sterilization time generally takes 45 minutes to 1 hour

because ozone sterilization takes a long time, for an automated beverage production line with a certain production capacity, if the sterilization effect is to be met and the sterilization process of the bottle cap is to be completed continuously in the sterilization equipment, the sterilization equipment needs to be very large. In the actual production process, ozone sterilization of bottle caps has greatly stimulated the improvement of traditional aluminum alloys, tapping the potential, exploring and developing new aluminum alloys. In the automatic beverage production line with certain production capacity, place a certain amount of bottle caps in a large sealed space, and then fill the space where the bottle caps are located with a certain concentration of ozone and keep it for a period of time. The number of bottle caps placed depends on the number of bottle caps required to maintain production. The longer the sterilized bottle cap is stored, the greater the risk of contamination. Therefore, the general storage time is not more than one week. The sterilized bottle cap needs to be isolated from the outside and sent to the cap conveyor when the cap conveyor needs it

at present, independent equipment that directly adopts ozone sterilization is mostly found in small cabinet type bottle cap sterilization cabinet. The bottle cap sterilization cabinet has small sterilization space, small production capacity, interval production and non automation. When using this ozone sterilization cabinet, it is necessary to manually move the sterilized bottle cap out of the sterilization cabinet and put it into the cap conveyor, which is easy to cause secondary pollution of the bottle cap. Therefore, ozone sterilization is only suitable for non automated production lines or small production lines with certain sterilization requirements for bottle caps

IV. bactericidal water sterilization

there are unstable elements in the bactericidal water, which will decompose by themselves. Bactericidal water sterilization is to use this decomposition process (oxidation process) to oxidize microorganisms on the surface of objects, so as to achieve the purpose of sterilization

common substances with strong oxidation are peracetic acid, ozone water and chlorine water. The instantaneous bactericidal property of ozone is better than that of chlorine. At present, peracetic acid and ozone water are basically used for sterilization of beverage bottle caps, most of which are peracetic acid. The higher the concentration of bactericidal water is, the shorter the sterilization time is. For peracetic acid at 65 ℃ 2000ppm, the cap can meet the requirements of commercial sterility by sterilization in 30 ~ 60 seconds. Due to its short sterilization time and good sterilization effect, bactericidal water is widely used in the sterilization of bottles and covers of fruit and vegetable juice drinks. The methods of sterilizing beverage bottle caps with sterilizing water mainly include spray type and immersion type

1. spray type is to use multiple groups of nozzles to spray bactericidal water on the surface of the bottle cap in multiple directions. The time for the bottle cap to receive the spray should ensure that the microorganisms can be completely killed. The specific method is as follows: the bottle cap after capping enters the bottle cap track in the same direction, and multiple groups of nozzles are set above and below the track. Each group of nozzles can spray bactericidal water on the bottle cap from different angles. The sprayed bactericidal water not only sterilizes the bottle cap, but also pushes the bottle cap forward along the track

when peracetic acid is used as bactericidal water, the bottle cap after being sprayed with bactericidal water needs to be rinsed with sterile water to remove the residual peracetic acid on the bottle cap and make the residual amount lower than the relevant standards; After washing with sterile water, dry the bottle cap with sterile air

when using ozone water as sterilization water, because the products of ozone water decomposition are water and oxygen, there is no harmful residual substances, so it is theoretically unnecessary to treat the bottle cap again. However, in the actual production process, because the outlet of the bottle cap sterilizer is very close to the capping machine, it is impossible to completely decompose the residual ozone. Therefore, after ozone water sterilization, the bottle cap also needs to be washed with sterile water and dried with sterile air

due to the linearity of the sprayed water, sterile water spray sterilization can be used for the sterilization of mineral water bottle caps, as well as the sterilization of bottle caps during the hot filling of tea drinks and fruit juice drinks. Hot filling adopts full bottle filling. After filling and capping, pour the bottle and heat the bottle cap for internal sterilization

2. Immersion type is to completely immerse the beverage bottle cap in the sterilizing water, so that all internal and external surfaces of the bottle cap are metallurgically sterilized by the sterilizing water, and the immersion time should meet the time requirements of complete sterilization of the bottle cap. One method is: the bottle cap with the same direction is fixed on the bottle cap frame, and the bottle cap frame is connected to the chain. The movement of the chain drives the bottle cap frame into the sterilization pool containing sterilization water and makes the bottle cap completely immersed in sterilization water. The soaking time should meet the time requirements of complete sterilization. Like the spray sterilization method, the bottle cap soaked in sterilized water also needs the spray washing of sterile water and the spray washing of sterile air to make the bottle cap dry and sterile

when sterile water sterilization method is adopted, the supporting sterilized water, sterile water and sterile air need to be made and treated. There are many peripheral supporting equipment, with high supporting cost, high consumption cost and high management requirements. Therefore, this sterilization process is generally applied to the bacteria free cold filling of fruit juice drinks

v. sterilization of electrolyte

electrolysis uses inert electricity to energize the electrode in the liquid at the same time, and its anode will undergo oxidation reaction and cathode will undergo reduction reaction. At present, relevant foreign personnel have studied the electrochemical reaction between completely demineralized drinking water and dilute sodium chloride solution, and obtained a bactericidal solution with better bactericidal effect than traditional bactericidal water in the anode area. If the electrolysis principle is directly applied to the sterilization of bottle caps, the transportation and storage costs can be greatly reduced, which saves time and effort, and is safe and effective

summary

analyze the above bottle caps