GEA Aseptic Blow Fill System ABF 2.0

The concept

The preforms are sterilized as soon as they leave the oven, where they are heated to optimize their thermal profiling and to minimize energy consumption and the use of the sterilizing agent. The internal and external surfaces of the preforms are treated with vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP) using a robust, controlled and condensation-free process to minimize residue values and achieve a 6 log decontamination performance. 

After the sterilization process, the preforms enter a pre-sterilized microbiological isolator – where the aseptic blowing wheel is located – and are blown with sterile air supplied through a filtered circuit that includes a dedicated VHP sterilization system. 

The fresh-blown sterile bottles are transferred by the neck from the aseptic blower to the aseptic filling module without leaving the sterile zone. The aseptic filler is enclosed in the same microbiological isolator, in which sterility is maintained during production with an overpressure of class 100 sterile air. As well as the filler module, the capper module in the ABF 2.0 system is specifically designed for aseptic applications and completely enclosed within the microbiological isolator.

Benefits:

• Full automated sterilization of the blowing, filling and capping modules, resulting in an effective, repeatable and automated process, needing no operator intervention
• Low chemical and no water consumption during production
• Minimum H2O2 residuals in the container (<0.5 ppm)
• Limited downtime (3 hours cleaning and sterilization cycles) for product changeovers
• Microbiological validation according to specific protocols for sensitive beverage industry
• PoC approved, being based on ABF 1.2 FDA approved architecture 

Performance

The versatile ABF 2.0 aseptic production system can process extremely sensitive, high and low acid, still or carbonated beverages, with or without particles. It can deliver a 6 log reduction for both cap and preform decontamination in a single sterilization phase and offers continuous aseptic production runs of 165 hours without stoppages or intermediate cleaning.

Blow molder aseptic design

Every component inside the sterile zone is chemical-resistant. Periodically, the internal surfaces of the blower can be cleaned by foaming and sterilized by vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP), which is also used to treat the air pipes and stretching rod housings before starting the production cycle.

The environmental sterilization process is completely automated requiring no manual intervention from the operator, therefore greatly decreasing any risk of system recontamination.

The aseptic blowing process

The preform blowing process is performed with sterile air; this requires both the use of microfiltration to sterilize the air and VHP to sterilize the piping. For this reason, GEA has developed a patented air blowing block that can be sterilized to maintain high levels of reactivity and reliability and decrease the pressure drop and dead volume.