Sustainability: what does it mean, and why should it be considered as a strategic value for the bottling industries?
Almost three decades have passed since the Brundtland Commission coined what has become the most often quoted definition of Sustainable Development: "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"
Today, in a complex, fast growing and changing world we are seeking attractive Capex (Capital expenditure) and Opex (Operational expenditure) figures. We are afraid about non renewable resources consumption and we are striving ourselves to use clean technologies to get more with less towards a zero waste concept. So, introducing a more holistic approach for Sustainable Development - the Life Cycle Assessment for a product or a technology - is the new phrase that forces us to take care of our Technical System from cradle to grave or, even better, from cradle to cradle again. The rationale behind a Sustainable Development for an Aseptic Filling line is based on an holistic engineering analysis of resource utilization such as:
- Material
- Space
- Energy
- Time
- Global Warming Potential (emission in terms of kg CO2 eq)
- Gross Energy Requirements (usually in MJ or kWh)
- Water Footprint (kg or litre)
“Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"

- No need for refrigeration (ambient temperature)
- From single serve up to 2 litres
- Mechanically – microbiologically and organoleptically stable
Material
Material for primary and secondary packaging follows the priority pyramid hierarchy
- Reduce material/energy for making same packaging
- Reuse resources
- Recycle

Energy
An Aseptic Blow Filling line, processing 1litre bottles at 400bpm
Material | Mass (g) | |
---|---|---|
Bottle | PET | 25 |
Cap | HDPE | 3,5 |
Label | PVC | 2,5 |
American Box | Corrugated cardboard | 20,7 |
Pallet wrapping film | PE | 0,24 |
Total mass | 51,9 |


- New oven IR module (Infra Red)
- Algorithm for lamp emission control
- Low dead volume
- Air recovery system
Bottle capacity | Consumption* Watt/Bottle |
---|---|
0.5 L | 3.3 |
1 L | 3.9 |
1.5 L | 4.8 |
2 L | 5.2 |
Air consumption Nm3 / h | |||
---|---|---|---|
Bottle capacity and speed | Without recovery system | Recovery system with 15% saving | Recovery system with 25 % saving |
0.5 L - 48.000 b/h | 1.175 | 1.000 | 880 |
1.0 L - 36.000 b/h | 1.600 | 1.360 | 1.200 |
1.5 L - 28.000 b/h | 2.000 | 1.700 | 1.500 |

PET Bottle | Mass (g) | Recycling (g) | Incineration (g) | Landfill (g) |
---|---|---|---|---|
PET | 25,0 | 12,5 | 5 | 7,5 |
HDPE | 3,5 | 1,155 | 1,155 | 1,19 |
PVC | 2,5 | 0,825 | 0,825 | 0,85 |
PE Film | 0,2 | 0,066 | 0,066 | 0,068 |
Corrugated Paperboard | 20,7 | 16,146 | 1,656 | 2,898 |
Total | 51,9 | 30,692 | 8,702 | 12,506 |
Space
in the bottling industry is a cost: bigger factories, greater expense

Time
The most precious resource in everyone’s life but also a cost to industry
- Time share from Aseptic Blowing to palletizer

Índice
-
Introduction
-
1.Markets, opportunities, a comparison of the technologies
- 1.1. “High acid” and “Low acid” beverages
- 1.2. Juices and Nectars
- 1.3. Sport Drinks
- 1.4. Tea and infusions
- 1.5. Functional Beverages
- 1.6. Milk-based products
- 1.6.1. UHT Milk
- 1.7. Historical perspective: Evolution of the technology from the Roman era to our day and age
- 1.7.1. "Aseptic" technology in the Roman era
- 1.7.2. The Roman "filling, capping and storage process"
- 1.8. Technologies to meet market demand
- 1.8.1. Use of preservatives
- 1.8.2. Hot fill
- 1.8.3. Ultra-clean filling
- 1.8.4. Aseptic Filling
- 1.8.5. Aseptic Blow Filling
- 1.9. Advantages and disadvantages of containers for beverages
- 1.9.1. Glass
- 1.9.2. Polylaminate carton
- 1.9.3. PET
- 1.9.4. HDPE
- 1.9.5. Cans
- 1.9.6. Pouches
- 1.10. Caps, closures, fitments
- 2.The right direction of sustainability
-
3.Thermal treatment for product
- 3.1. Heat Exchangers for Liquid Products
- 3.1.1. Plate Heat Exchanger
- 3.1.2. Single Tube Heat Exchanger
- 3.1.3. Multi Tube Heat Exchanger
- 3.1.4. Triple Tube Heat Exchanger
- 3.1.5. Spiral Tube Heat Exchangers
- 3.1.6. Scraped Surface Heat Exchangers
- 3.2. Indirect and Direct Heating
- 3.3. Direct Heating UHT and ESL Designs
- 3.3.1. Direct Injection
- 3.3.2. Direct infusion
- 3.4. The best heat exchanger for your application
- 3.4.1. Heat Damage to food
- 3.4.2. System Selection Criteria
- 3.5. Conclusions
-
4.Understanding aseptic filling technology
- 4.1. Aseptic technology: an integrated system, not a series of connected machines.
- 4.2. Structure of an aseptic filling line
- 4.2.1. Sterilization
- 4.2.2. Container sterilization
- 4.3. Treatment of containers
- 4.3.1. Peroxyacetic Acid (POAA or PAA)
- 4.3.2. H2O2
- 4.4. PAA WET container sterilization
- 4.5. PAA vapour container sterilization
- 4.6. H2O2 CHP container sterilization
- 4.7. H2O2 VHP container sterilization
- 4.8. Preform sterilization technology
- 4.8.1. CHP sterilization
- 4.8.2. VHP sterilization
- 4.9. Cap sterilization technology
- 4.9.1. PAA spray sterilization
- 4.10. PAA immersion sterilization
- 4.10.1. CHP sterilization
- 4.10.2. VHP sterilization
- 4.10.3. Pre-sterilized caps handling
- 4.11. Energy-based sterilization without chemicals
- 4.11.1. UV light sterilization
- 4.11.2. Pulsed light sterilization
- 4.11.3. Ionizing radiation Sterilization
- 4.11.4. Electron beam sterilization
- 4.12. Aseptic Filling
- 4.12.1. Volumetric electronic filling
- 4.12.2. Weight filling
- 4.12.3. Other filling technologies
- 4.13. Capping
- 4.14. Bottle handling
- 4.15. Ancillary process equipment
- 4.15.1. Sterilizing solution production
- 4.16. Sterile water production
- 4.16.1. Utilities and fluids handling
- 4.16.2. CIP, SIP, COP, SOP
- 4.16.3. Integration of ancillary process units
- 4.16.4. Piping
- 4.16.5. Simplification of line handling
- 4.16.6. Radiation-based fluids sterilization
- 4.17. Line automation
- 5.Your new Aseptic Line
- 6.Good maintenance: the best way to preserve the value of the investment
- 7.Improved safety: for the product, for operators and for the environment
- 8.Aseptic filling and FDA
-
9.Sell Aseptic to sell "more" and sell "better"
-
10.The Future of Aseptic
-
Conclusions
- Addendum