Krones has developed the new Contipur preform steriliser in order to optimise the hygiene level of blow-moulded PET containers, particularly for ESL products in the cold chain, and sensitive, lightly carbonated fruit-juice beverages and spritzers. The preforms are treated between the oven and the blow-moulder in a treatment chamber within a few seconds by means of gaseous hydrogen peroxide. Since the preforms are also treated simultaneously on the outside with H2O2, no wear-susceptible UV lamps are required for sterilising their outer surfaces. The preforms are treated between the oven and the blow-moulder in a treatment chamber within a few seconds by means of gaseous hydrogen peroxide.
Thanks to the strong H2O2 concentration in conjunction with the hot preforms, Krones is accordingly able to guarantee a high sterilisation rate for both the interior and exterior of the preforms concerned. The risk of recontamination for the preforms or bottles after sterilisation is reduced to a minimum, since they are treated immediately downstream of the oven, the bottles are blow-moulded with filtered air, and the atmosphere around the blow-moulder itself consists of HEPA-filtered air.
Thanks to preform sterilisation, consumption of energy and media has been significantly reduced compared to bottle treatment. Given a line speed of 36,000 containers an hour, the module consists of 48 treatment stations.
During sterilisation, the preforms are positioned in half-shells, handling parts that can be swiftly replaced when changing over to different preform sizes, using quick-change features. The Contipure module possesses its own control system, but is operated from a touch-screen shared with the blow-moulder.
