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Stepless volume-flow adjustment at the filling valve

Source:Ringier Food Release Date:2015-07-09 451
Food & Beverage
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A new revolution in filling, the Proportional Flow Regulator (PFR) can create any flow velocity

THE Proportional Flow Regulator (PFR), a new filling-valve component could be instrumental in revolutionizing the filling process. Instead of the two fixed flow rates so far customary (slow/fast), the flow regulator can create any flow velocity desired up to and including the level- and pressure-related maximum filling speed. The PFR developed by Krones was put to the toughest imaginable test at the Burg Groep in the Netherlands: for filling vinegar, an extremely acidic liquid with a pH-value of 2.2, and prone to vigorous foaming as well.

The Burg Groep makes vinegar, fruit syrups and fruit-juice concentrates, household cleaning agents, plus cleaning and care products for the car. It operates seven state-of-the-art production facilities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Czechia.

In the vinegar-production segment, the Burg Groep is one of the leading companies on the global market. The firm manufactures natural vinegar with an outstandingly high acidity of up to 20%.

The idea of product diversification was born from the fact that handling pure alcohol, which is needed for most of these articles, is in any case a learned and well-known procedure, due to vinegar manufacture. What’s more, vinegar in every manifestation, whether as household vinegar for consumers or in semi-finished form for making preserves or ketchup, for example, is a seasonal product, for which demand is particularly strong in the months from February to September. For deploying to better effect the human resources available, especially, during the winter months as well, this diversification to include cleaning agents was the logical choice. This makes the Burg Groep a global player with a payroll exceeding 200. The familial character of the owner-managed company has been retained to this very day, despite the strong growth experienced over recent years.

Krones filling line for vinegar-based products

In its plant at Heerhugowaard, the company’s headquarters, three filling lines are up and running, two of which are rated at 7,000 and 8,000 containers an hour respectively. The third line was installed by the group in 2010. From the filler to the packer, it consists entirely of machines from Kosme and Krones, and permits a maximum output of 16,000 containers per hour. At present, however, the line’s speed is limited to 11,000 bottles an hour, due to the existing blow-molder. The line comprises an AirCo conveyor, a pressureless Modulfill VFJ filler with 48 valves and an integrated Checkmat F-G, an existing Kosme Star 12T labeller, a Kosme Divipack container spacer and a Kosme Flypack packer. It is used to fill household vinegar and domestic vinegar-based cleaning agents.

Vinegar is one of the most demanding liquids around when it comes to its commercial filling. With its pH-value of 2.2 to 2.5, it massively attacks all parts coming into contact with it, like stainless steels, but also and especially the seals. What doesn’t make things any easier is its marked susceptibility to foaming, which is why vinegar is a tough challenge for any filling operation. Furthermore, the Burg Groep produces vinegars with an acidity of up to (or even exceeding) 20%. As the plant manager at the Heerhugowaard facility, Martin van den Booren, put it: “The higher the acidity, the more difficult it is to fill the product concerned.” Krones was eager to take on this challenge, and test for its practical utility the PFR filling-valve component, developed specifically for handling vigorously foaming products.

In the shape of the Proportional Flow Regulator (PFR), Krones has put in place the preconditions for a considerably more flexible filling function

Maximized speed, optimum functional dependability

In the PFR, Krones has created a component which marries top performance to a maximum of functional dependability for the future, irrespective of the boundary conditions involved. It can be combined with all commonly used metering systems, like a flow meter, a weighing cell or a short-circuit sensor. The electronic control components are installed in every filling valve for a decentralised configuration. The PFR has already undergone tests with milk, juice, vinegar, ice tea, wine, soy sauce and CSDs. It is supplied 100% with electricity, so there’s no need for any pneumatics in this system. Another option is the hybrid structure, in which conventional pneumatic valves are combined with the stepless regulators.

The PFR boasts a host of advantages in practical operation. Since the flow velocity is user-selectable, the machine can always be run at its maximum possible speed, thus permitting it to be optimally matched to all product-bottle combinations.

The Proportional Flow Regulator makes rigorous use of field-proven materials: stainless steel, PTFE and EPDM, so as to comply with the commonly applicable hygiene standards. Intelligent monitoring systems ensure a maximum of functional dependability and machine availability while continual adjustment of the valve function makes for a consistently high level of filling quality.

“The foaming problem has been solved”

The new technology was installed and tested at the Burg Groep step by step – mostly at weekends, so as not to hamper ongoing production operations. The filler has meanwhile been running with the PFR for more than 3,000 operating hours.

An excellent result: “In that filling is performed at continuously changeable speeds, foaming is severely downsized, or even entirely prevented. The foaming problem has been solved,” said Mr van den Booren. “This enables us to fill faster overall, and to increase the filler’s output by 15 to 20%. This was an aspect of crucial importance for us, since demand for our products is rising and we therefore need additional filling capacities.”

Furthermore he said, “All of the control kit need no longer be accommodated in the filler turret, but has been grouped together directly in the valve, thus eliminating the possibility of malfunctions between turret and valve. And that has beneficial effects on maintenance as well.”

Maintenance outlay in the event of a fault is indeed minimal. Since the electronic and mechanical equipment is accommodated together in a single housing, a defective PFR is replaced in its entirety, doing away with a lengthy search. With conventional filling technology, by contrast, trouble-shooting is definitely more elaborate, because the electronics are in the control cabinet and the mechanical parts are on the valve. Thanks to the plug-and-play principle, the flow regulator is quickly ready for operation: during maintenance, the times for replacing a complete valve are extremely short – all that’s needed is moving three cable plugs and two flanges.

Maintenance agreement has paid for itself

For this line, the Burg Groep has also concluded a maintenance agreement with Krones right from the start, which comprises a big maintenance routine lasting one week, plus a small one lasting several days, per year. “The maintenance agreement has already paid for itself,” Mr van den Booren said. “As demonstrated by the malfunction list alone, which has meanwhile become a whole lot shorter. Operational dependability is higher, with a concomitantly higher level of availability. You see, usually it’s like this: a machine fails precisely when you need it most. But thanks to continuous maintenance, this is not the case here. You have to pay for quality, but then you’ve got something that stays with you for years on end,” is his firm conviction.

There are also options for remote control and remote maintenance from Krones’ plant in Neutraubling, something that in the eyes of the plant manager makes definite sense. “Take a software update, for example. That’s no problem at all,” he says.

Intelligent monitoring systems ensure a maximum of functional dependability and machine availability

Energy-economy

As Europe’s second-biggest vinegar producer, the Burg Groep wants to be a sustainable producer, which is why it is continually optimizing its production processes. Teams comprising technicians and researchers examine the options provided by new raw materials and production methods. “We are convinced that striving for sustainability also offers opportunities leading to innovations and giving us a competitive edge,” said Mr van den Booren.

PFR, too, scores highly when it comes to sustainability. As pneumatics can be dispensed with, energy will only be consumed when something actually moves. A valve self-locking function is provided using a trapezoidal spindle solution. For the first machine in actual operation, this resulted in the energy consumed at the filling valves being reduced by up to 90%.

As next investment in 2015, the Burg Groep will replace the now-too-small PET blow-molder in this line with a higher-output one, thus increasing overall line output to 16,000 containers an hour. The Burg Groep’s management team have meanwhile become fully aware of the new flow regulators’ benefits and are enthusiastic about them, as are their colleagues from the group’s other plants. “This new technology is something that I can unreservedly recommend,” said Mr van den Booren. “When it works for vinegar, it is even more suitable for other products prone to foaming.”

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