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The returnable PET bottles are produced on a KHS InnoPET Blomax V stretch blow molder that was put into operation in 2019 – one of the first ever on the market. It scores above all with resource savings and a production process with a significantly smaller car- bon footprint.
Thanks to its optimized near-infrared (NIR) heater, this machine from the latest generation of KHS stretch blow molders consumes up to 10% less en- ergy. The AirBackPlus air recovery sys- tem also included in the returnable bottle blowing process uses up to 40% less high-pressure air.
The new technology also saves on resources when it comes to material consumption: the improved material distribution of the stretch blow mol- ding process now uses the PET located below the neck ring that to date has remained unstretched, enabling lighter preforms to be used.
Trust in technology
“We aim to reduce the consumption of water in beverage production to an absolute minimum without neglecting the necessary standards of hygiene. The prime focus here is on the total cost of ownership. Our customers ope- rate in high-investment supply chains with extremely large throughputs. Each and every minute of availability that takes up less time for cleaning counts; each machine downtime means lost re- venue,” says Siegmar Stang, executive vice-president of the Filling Technology Product Division at KHS. With the ran- ge of measures taken to reduce water consumption, KHS not only helps its cu- stomers to save on resources but also to cut their costs throughout the life cycle of the entire filling line.
“We have a very efficient team here at the Cape. Our local engineers carried out the installation and commissioning work. The highly competent specialists, some of whom were trained in Dort- mund and some at KHS’ own training center in Johannesburg, are of course also available during ongoing operati- on for activities such as audits, mainte- nance or repair”, says Stephan Mürset, regional sales manager at KHS.
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INGEDIENTS
BEVERAGES
Exemplary water management
A major issue in connection with su- stainability in South Africa is of course the responsible use of resources – wa- ter in particular. Water-saving techno- logy helps in the production process: this modification was successfully com- pleted with two new bottle washers the Dortmund system provider instal- led and put into operation in Parow last year. One of the machines pro- cesses returnable PET at respective capacities of up to 26,400 1.5-liter bottles an hour and up to 19,200 2.0-liter bottles per hour. The other washes up to 36,000 returnable glass bottles an hour with volumes ranging from 300 to 500 milliliters. Thanks to a number of innovations, each of the two uses about 25% less water than their predecessors. Based on this investment and a number of other measures with which CCPB achieves remarkable results, they have greatly helped to save on re- sources by reducing the water con- sumed per liter of finished beverage from 3.6 liters to 1.7 liters within the past twelve years.
Since some of the water used comes from their own boreholes, the focus here is also on sustainability in the sen- se of constant replenishment of the wells. The suitability of each borehole is tested in advance by geological in- stitutions, only 50% of the permitted delivery rate is utilized and pumping is carried out at certain intervals to enable the groundwater to regenerate. Before it’s used to produce beverages, the water is filtered through a nanofilter in six cleaning stages to ensure top-quality water.
Greg Morse is particularly proud of CCPB’s conscientious use of scarce wa- ter resources. “There’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t be pleased with our achievements. On the contra- ry: at the end of last year we and two other companies were awarded a five- star water rating by the City of Cape Town for our exemplary water manage- ment.” This commitment also includes participation in various regional initiati- ves, which among other things ensure that more people have access to clean drinking water.
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KHS: Bottle washers
Here are some of the techno- logical innovations of KHS bottle washers (also available as retrofits for existing machines):
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Capacity-dependent fresh water control: Adjustment of the fresh water supply to the current machine capaci- ty by a control valve
* Much less fresh water con- sumed at a reduced machi- ne output
ECO carriers: Bottle pockets which are 25% lighter with side openings for improved rinsing
* Less caustic and heat carry- over in the machine
* Less heat absorption, better energy balance
* Cleaning media saved
* Less mechanical load on the drive system
LESS (Liquid Efficiency Spra- ying System): Power-saving function for spray pumps which reduces the spray pressure to approx. 0.3 bar during downtimes
* 80% less energy consumed in standby mode
* Option: flexible spray pres- sure enables processing of lightweight glass and PET bottles
ECO chain: Weight-opti- mized bottle pocket chain
* Service life 25% longer
* Less transfer of heat
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