New Generation of Dosing and Blending Equipment
The Innopro Paramix C is making its mark
Ludwig Clüsserath*
Alfons Abels-Rümping**
Great enthusiasm for innovation is shown by the beverage industry the world over. And why? Well, consumers have become curious and are now calling for beverages with increasingly novel tastes. This has sparked off a continuous growth in the range of products offered by many beverage companies. Plus the fact that the boundaries between what were strictly designated sectors are becoming ever more fluid. It is thus no longer a rarity for soft drinks manufacturers to sell mixed beer and wine beverages alongside their more classic soda pops, mineral waters, health, energy, and sports drinks. Or that breweries also make still fruit beverages in addition to a wide range of beers and classic soft drinks. And so on and so forth. In fact, anything goes – and plant engineering is now having to adapt itself to satisfy the ever greater demand for flexibility made by the industry. With its new Innopro Paramix C dosing and blending system, KHS is making provision for the latest industrial requirements. The Innopro Paramix C is a further development of the tried-and-tested Innopro Paramix CMX dosing and blending system that has a very successful history. At present, there are around 1,000 Innopro Paramix machines in operation worldwide. The main targets for the further development of the proven CMX system were set to satisfy specifications made by the industry: implementation of even shorter product changeovers while minimizing product loss; maximum automation coupled with minimum operator involvement; even greater process perfection by also improving communications with upstream and downstream KHS line equipment even further; and a reduction in the space required for the entire setup. The new Innopro Paramix C dosing and blending system meets all of the above key aims.
* Manager, Process Engineering Competence Center, KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach,
Phone: +49 (671) 852-2501
** Product Management, Process Technology Competence Center,
KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach. Phone: +49 (671) 852-2211
Capacity of between 4,000 and 74,000 liters per hour
The three-component, Innopro Paramix C dosing and blending system produces still and carbonated beverages in a continuous process. It can also be expanded as required to include a fourth or fifth dosing segment. The single, compact unit deaerates, mixes, and carbonates. If products with more than five components are scheduled for blending, then KHS' Innopro Contimix C multicomponent blending system is the machine of choice. The capacity of the Innopro Paramix C ranges from 4,000 to 74,000 liters per hour. The Innopro Paramix C is coupled with a KHS filling system to form one single processing unit. This eliminates the need for interfaces right from the start, with perfect communication between the dosing and blending units and the filling system a given.
The motto: Plug & Produce
The particularly advantageous design of the Innopro Paramix C starts with its compact exterior. As opposed to previous models, the tanks have now been installed not vertically but horizontally, creating a number of added technological bonuses, among others. All connecting lines are located above the deaeration and finished beverage tanks, with all of the pumps to one side of the Innopro Paramix C. These features are all part of the saving-space concept that is also operator- and maintenance-friendly as it is easy to access.
What's more, the aforementioned attributes also ensure that every Innopro Paramix C arrives at the beverage company practically ready to go! The compact, modular machine is mounted on a frame and fits into one shipping container, making it easy to transport as a single unit – one into which all of the functional mixer modules have been fully integrated. Once it has arrived at the beverage plant, all the customer has to do is hook up the various supply lines. As opposed to conventional systems, this considerably reduces the time needed for machine commissioning – in full keeping with the Plug & Produce principle.
Optional housing for maximum hygiene and even greater protection
Another plus of the extremely compact Innopro Paramix C is that it can also be supplied with an optional glass housing. The advantages of providing a cover for the machine are obvious: individual system components are protected from dirt that can have a detrimental effect on the extremely sensitive measurement systems in particular, and are also shielded against damage and unauthorized access. The housing also provides even better soundproofing and prevents operating personnel from inadvertently touching hot surfaces while cleaning the Innopro Paramix C.
Water deaeration based on two-stage vacuum spray deaeration
The first step in the Innopro Paramix C involves deaerating water according to the principle of two-stage, horizontal vacuum spraying. The reason for deaerating water is that water usually contains foreign gases, particularly oxygen. An increased percentage of oxygen in the beverage can cause two things in particular: a reduction in its shelf life, and, when bottling carbonated beverages, a high ingress of foreign gas results in an increase in product foaming or gushing in the bottle during filling.
Larger liquid surface aids successful deaeration
The purpose of any water deaeration process is to eliminate the presence of any foreign gases or oxygen as far as possible. What's important in this context is that in the Innopro Paramix C, as opposed to setups that use a vertical deaeration tank, the horizontal deaeration tank and special spraying plates create a greater surface area. This aids successful deaeration considerably. The deaerating tank is divided into two deaerating stages. Water is initially sprayed into the first vacuum tank area. This releases gas from the liquid phase which is suctioned off by a vacuum pump. A circulation pump then pumps the pre-deaerated water on to the second deaeration stage. A small amount of CO2 stripping gas is added to enhance the deaeration effect and the water is again sprayed in vacuum atmosphere where the released gas is suctioned off. This sophisticated method of water deaeration more or less halves the amount of residual oxygen left in the water in comparison to standard procedures, which in practical operation is approximately 0.3 milligrams per liter.
One-stop shop
The deaerated water is then sent on to the mixing pump where it is blended with syrup. As a solution-orientated supplier of complete systems, if required KHS is also able to produce the syrup fed into the syrup infeed tank. As a one-stop shop, KHS deals with just about everything – from receiving and blending the raw materials comprising a beverage in the syrup room, from processing the finished syrup on the Innopro Paramix C dosing and blending system to filling and packaging of the finished beverage.
Mass flowmetering for maximum precision and less use of syrup
The Innopro Paramix C syrup infeed tank is an unpressurized container that contains a cover of CO2. This keeps both oxygen away from the syrup surface and prevents outside air from penetrating the tank. Precision mass flowmetering takes place in the syrup pipe train upstream of the mixing pump where electromagnetic inductive flowmetering was commonly used in the past.
The advantages of mass flowmetering are the lack of dependency on temperature and, correspondingly, the expansion of the metered product. Mass flowmeters additionally offer capabilities for determining the density of finished syrup in addition to mass flow as further quantities for measuring the density of the finished syrup, which in turn is a measured quantity for the Brix value in the syrup. The measuring accuracy of mass flowmetering is consequently increased again versus volumetric flowmetering. By using mass and Brix measurement, the resulting significant advantage for the Innopro Paramix C is that diluted syrup phases can be automatically and immediately detected when the product is changed. This enables the mixing ratio of syrup and water to be adjusted in such a way that after blending using the KHS minBriX process, the desired product is produced exactly as required in the given quality. This eliminates the need to discard diluted syrup phases – as has been the case up to now. What's more, syrup loss is considerably reduced. Just by using the KHS minBriX process alone, approximately three to five liters of syrup are saved per product changeover. If we were to assume, for example, that an average of three product changeovers a day are made on a filling line and if we reckon on having 250 days of production a year, this results in a saving of between 2,250 and 3,750 liters of syrup. As a rule, the larger the variety of products in a beverage company and thus the greater the number of product changeovers, the more interesting the savings potential is.
Exceptionally high dosing accuracy
The Innopro Paramix C offers standard syrup-to-water blending ratios of 1:3 and 1:9. An extended blending range of from 1:1 to 1:10 is also feasible. At around 0.05° Brix, the dosing accuracy for syrup is exceptionally high.
Faster product changeover creates considerable savings in production time
The automated, syrup-saving product changeover enabled by the KHS minBriX process creates yet another major advantage: namely that product changeovers can be completed much more quickly. In conventional dosing and blending systems there was a gap of about 25 minutes between the last filled bottle of the first product and the first filled bottle of the second. This wait has now been cut down to just four to eight minutes. This includes a short interim rinse with water on the Innopro Paramix C and KHS filling systems. Another deciding factor here is that the filler and blending system are treated as a single process unit that functions as a coordinated whole. If the product is changed three times a day, around one hour of production time is saved per day. If we assume that there are 250 days of production in a year, then an additional 250 hours a year can be spent on production. Practical experience has confirmed that each extra hour of production saves about €500. Based on the above assumptions, this cost reduction would yield €125,000 a year!
KHS' carbonation nozzle ensures optimum distribution and saturation of carbon dioxide in the product
After blending the syrup and water, the Innopro Paramix C then carbonates the product. In the standard setup, an electromagnetic inductive flowmeter records the blended still product. Optionally, mass flowmetering can be used. While using mass flowmeters is optional for freshly blended products, it is mandatory for carbonating. This is the only way to make sure that CO2 enters the liquid uniformly, regardless of the prevailing pressure conditions and fluctuations in temperature. KHS' special carbonation nozzle ensures that the carbon dioxide is optimally distributed and saturated in the product. This is important, as the better the carbon dioxide is saturated, the less carbonated beverages foam during the snifting phase. Innopro Paramix C's standard carbonating range lies between 2 and 9 grams of carbon dioxide per liter. This can be extended to cover a range from 0.5 to over 9 grams of CO2 a liter if required.
Prepared for all eventualities
A whole host of possibilities is feasible with the Innopro Paramix C. Directly feeding the finished beverage to the carbonation nozzle, for example, or straight to the storage tank through a separate dosing pipe. Or – if mixed beer or wine beverages are to be produced – beer and wine can be fed directly to the freshly blended, finished beverage. Or the carbonation nozzle can be switched off temporarily if still beverages are to be produced. The Innopro Paramix C is prepared for just about any eventuality.
The Innopro Paramix C boosts filling system efficiency
The finished beverage is piped into the finished beverage tank. This horizontal tank contains a cover of CO2 to keep the carbon dioxide dissolved in the product saturated. If a still beverage has just been produced, the tank can be optionally covered with nitrogen or sterile air. Any microbubbles of foreign gas that may still be contained in the finished product rise more effectively to the larger surface area of finished beverages stored in horizontal tanks. This is an aspect that again reduces the amount of undesired foreign gas in the product – and that, together with the deaeration and carbonating process that has been planned right down to the last detail, also brings about a clear increase in filling system efficiency. The reason for this is that the better the oxygen values and the lower the amount of foreign gas in the finished product, the less foam is formed during snifting and thus the quicker the filling process. In concrete figures, this means 5% to 8% more performance for a KHS filling system connected downstream of the Innopro Paramix C. This is yet another benefit to come from treating the processes implemented by the Innopro Paramix C and a KHS filling system as a composite whole.
Targeted CO2 savings
There is also excellent communication between the Innopro Paramix C and the KHS filling system when it comes to receiving the product. As KHS defines the Innopro Paramix C and a KHS filling system as one process engineering unit and regulates the programming and controls accordingly, the Innopro Paramix C directly orientates itself to the output of the KHS filling system during the production process. When the filling system runs at a lower capacity than usual, the finished beverage tank fills more slowly. Conversely, the finished beverage is supplied faster – just as precisely coordinated – as the filler capacity increases. The product is always kept at a constant level in the finished beverage tank. This is controlled by a probe, with the advantage that the constant level of finished beverage in the tank determines the amount of CO2 used to cover the product in the tank, that is also always kept at the same level. Compared to the old two-point control system of the Innopro Paramix CMX, where the amount of product in the finished beverage tank fluctuated between a maximum and minimum fill level, here there is no additional loss of CO2. In addition, by continuously filling the finished beverage tank, the pump units needed to convey the product are regulated thereby reducing the strain on the pumps and thus extending their service life. The finished beverage tank is also equipped with a CO2 pressure control, which, among other things, ensures that when the filler is stopped, the pressure in the finished beverage tank and in the filling area is decreased to close to the saturation pressure. When the filling system is restarted, the level of CO2 pressure in the filler and finished beverage tank is again increased. This avoids over-carbonation in the boundary layers between the product and the carbon dioxide.
Highest level of automation
Both the production processes and cleaning programs run automatically in the Innopro Paramix C – and are continuously synchronized with the KHS filling system. To change products, all the authorized machine operator has to do is simply select the new recipe at the display screen. The number of recipes that can be kept stored in the Innopro Paramix C is virtually unlimited. More than 1,000 is no problem at all. This allows beverage companies to dream up an almost limitless variety of new creations!
Requirements of the industry fully implemented
The meticulously designed Innopro Paramix C is pointing the way to the future. Even running production under high outdoor temperature conditions is doable. If the Innopro Paramix C is to be operated in tropical climates, for example, or if particularly low filling temperatures are necessary for certain products, it is possible to integrate a cooling stage into the system upstream of the carbonation stage. It is also feasible to insulate the finished beverage tank to avoid an increase in the temperature of the beverage if production is stopped for any length of time, thereby guaranteeing perfect filling results at all times.
Visual highlight with plenty of future potential
All told, the Innopro Paramix C is a dosing and blending system that fully meets the demands and requirements of the beverage industry. And on top of it all, the Innopro Paramix C is also a visual highlight – one that clearly belongs to the next generation of dosing and blending machines and that is redefining dosing and blending technology within the beverage industry.
