HRS Heat Exchangers was approached by a contract manufacturer in the UK, which was producing of one of the country’s best-selling branded fruit juice drinks under contract for a major brand owner. The company needed to increase production capacity within a limited existing footprint, while still preserving the fresh taste and premium quality characteristics of the product.

The customer had an existing plate heat exchanger for pasteurising drink products, but it lacked sufficient capacity to meet the increase demand for the product. Also, due to the design it could only cope with a limited range of product types.

Using a tubular pasteuriser based on an HRS multitube heat exchanger not only increased production capacity in a relatively small unit, but it also provided new capacity to handle thicker and more viscous products if required.

It was decided that an HRS Aseptic Block unit would be the best solution, incorporating a pasteuriser (based on the HRS MI Series of multitube heat exchangers), pumps, and AF Series aseptic filler to fill bulk bag-in-box products.

Because the customer wanted a turnkey solution, HRS also took care of the ancillaries such as a boiler for the heating water for the pasteuriser, the chiller and all the necessary pipework, pumps, and gauges.

The Aseptic Block also included a buffer tank, controls, and an integrated cleaning-in-place system.

Capable of handling three tonnes of product per hour, the pasteuriser raises the temperature of the product from 15°C to 95°C, with a holding time of 30 seconds, before the product is cooled to 18°C ready for aseptic filling.

The pasteuriser in the HRS Aseptic Block is based on the HRS MI Series of multitube heat exchangers, and the Multi Product Stacker dispenses, conveys, and stacks up to six product units.

Since installation the HRS Aseptic Block has performed to specification, fully meeting the needs of both customer and their client.

This article first appeared in the April 2022 edition of Food & Drink Business.   

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