Combi - the darling of liquid food PET packaging

For pasteurized dairy products and other perishable dairy products and juices, PET bottle packaging guarantees a long shelf life at room temperature. PET blow-molding and filling lines are equipped with factories of modern companies, so improving the efficiency of the entire PET packaging line becomes even more important.

In many technological innovations, how to combine the blowing of a PET bottle into a filling cap is a technical problem. This situation continued until the time when Sidel introduced the Combi machine seven years ago. Today, Sidel's 100 Combi machines are now operating around the world to prove that this integrated packaging approach has moved from a conception to feasible industrial applications.

Birth

The birth of the Combi was due to the concept that the liquid PET bottle was packaged in a single unit and combined with three major steps. The creator of this concept, Sidel, constantly pursued the optimization of production and completely controlled the hygienic packaging conditions. Reduce equipment footprint. This concept applies to all liquid foods, from carbonated drinks, sensitive drinks, to semi-liquid products (such as ketchup and mayonnaise).

In 1997, the Combi machine that produced gas-free drinking water took the lead in entering the market. This type of machine is still the majority in the sold Combi. This proves that the Combi machine can face fierce competition in the water market. Combi machines are a better choice for dairy products, fruit juices and even carbonated drinks. Seven years later, Combi machines were used in 38 countries, indicating that this concept has already penetrated all liquid food markets on all continents.

Advantage

Combi machine is a new industrial concept of PET bottle packaging, which can fully increase the PET bottle production capacity and hygiene. Combi machine can install 4-28 blow molds, the production speed of 5000-42000 bottles / hour range, can use any Sidel filling technology to connect production. Several steps are performed within a single device and the process can be fully controlled at any production speed.

This reduces interface problems and improves overall production. These advantages are similar to the inclusion of capping in the filling machine. The integrated concept of the Combi machine eliminates the necessary air transport links in the traditional solution. The positive transport of bottles from blowing to filling reduces the bottle weight and increases the freedom of bottle design. This significantly reduces the cost of materials and energy consumption. Because of the small footprint of the equipment, the Combi can provide the perfect solution for today's planning needs and the humanized design of the plant. Only one operator is required to perform simple operations on site. The blowing bottle is closely connected with the filling operation. The stainless steel hood with no negative pressure inside, the air filter system, and the surface and product circuit are clean. All of these elements ensure the sanitary status of the whole production process. Therefore, the Combi machine not only protects the PET package from damage, but also keeps the liquid food safe.

new record

The comprehensive technological advantages and equipment innovation of the Sidel Group drive the progress and improvement of the Combi. Recently, the Combi machine produced a half-liter PET bottle for carbonated beverages at a rate of 42,000 bottles/hour, and wrote a new round of world records, becoming a major technological innovation. The Combi combines the use of Sidel's pressure-free bottle assembly station developed by Sidel, which makes the machine structure more compact, the integrated solution more complete and the operation simple, suitable for a variety of filling lines.

Dairy industry applications

From the viewpoint of China's liquid food market, the application of PET packaging in the beverage industry is quite extensive and mature, but its application in the dairy industry is relatively small. In fact, except for white milk, which needs pasteurization and special processing to store it, any flavored dairy products can be stored in conventional PET bottles. Therefore, PET packaging holds great promise in the dairy industry. Based on Sidel's expertise in PET blowing and filling and its extensive experience in the aseptic filling of dairy products, the emergence of Combi machines will strongly promote the development of dairy PET packaging.

As an integrated packaging system that combines the three functions of blowing, filling and sealing, under the premise of cold chain sales, ESL (long shelf life of cold chain sales) dairy products filled with this system need not be used. Chemical additives, without the need to rinse the bottles, allow the storage duration of milk and lactic acid drinks to reach three weeks and one month respectively. In addition, this system eliminates the need for an air conveyor belt between the blower and the filler, which saves a considerable amount of floor space.

There are four Combi models for milk packaging in PET bottles, suitable for bottles of different capacities from 200 ml to 2 litres.

*Standard models of SF Combi Classic include: Sidel SBO blow moulder and FMf series capacity filler with flow meter. This packaging line is used to fill pasteurized dairy products sold in cold chains, with a shelf life of 2 to 5 days.

*SF Combi Select to increase the model: for pasteurized dairy products with a shelf life of 2 to 3 weeks for cold chain or lactic acid drinks with a shelf life of 1 month. The packaging line includes a preform sterilization module, an SBO blow moulder and an FMf series volumetric filling machine with a 100-layered flowmeter.

* The Combi Ultra model also includes a preform sterilization module, but adds a step to hydrogen peroxide sterilization. The matched SBO blow-molding machine blows bottles with disinfectant air. The filling machine is a capacity filling machine of the FMf series. The machine is equipped with 100-type layered bacteria-treated tea beverages, and the storage period reaches 2 to 3 months.

*SF Combi Aseptic aseptic models for long shelf life dairy products sold at room temperature. This filling line includes the SBO blow moulder, decontamination and rinsing module (washed with PAA superacid and disinfectant water), an aseptic filler (Fmi series, capacity flow meter with overpressure protection) and Two process platforms: "Logiface" (used to control the sterilized dairy feed filter, and the dry cap with sterile air, the CIP field cleaning device inside the machine and the SIP field sterilizer) and "PAA" (used to control the PAA Peracetic acid, disinfectant and SOP field machine external sterilizer supply and circulation). The model is suitable for flavored milk, milk coffee, milk tea and tea drinks.

SF Combi Classic standard models, SF Combi Select enhanced models, SF Combi Aseptic aseptic models can reach a maximum speed of 32,000 bottles/hour depending on the filling capacity. Combi Ultra models are based on different processes and bottle capacity, with a maximum speed of 24,000 to 28,000 bottles/hour.