Process and apparatus for pasteurizing liquid contained in containers
AssigneeHeineken Technical Services B.V.
InventorRonald Lucassen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to a process for the pasteurization of liquid contained in containers, such as beer in bottles or cans, in a tunnel pasteurizer comprising at least a pre-heating zone (1), a pre-pasteurization zone (2), a pasteurization zone (3) and a cooling zone (4), each zone comprising a plurality of sprayers (11, 12, 13, 14), containers being heated up and cooled down through spraying with water which is received in a plurality of separate receiving means (7, 8, 9, 10), the containers in a cooling zone being sprayed with water received in a pre-heating zone. The process is characterized in that during the normal, continuous feed-through of the containers through the pasteurizer, the supply of water to the sprayers in the pasteurization zone is prevented.
Claims16
A process for the pasteurization of liquid contained in containers in a tunnel pasteurizer comprising at least a pre-heating zone, a pre-pasteurization zone, a pasteurization zone and a cooling zone, each zone comprising a plurality of sprayers, comprising heating and cooling the containers through spraying with water received in a plurality of separate receiving means, spraying the containers in the cooling zone with water received from the pre-heating zone, and, during a normal, continuous feeding of the containers through the pasteurizer, preventing the supply of water to the sprayers in the pasteurization zone.
A tunnel pasteurizer for pasteurizing liquid contained in containers, comprising at least a pre-heating zone, a pre-pasteurization zone, a pasteurization zone and a cooling zone, each comprising a plurality of sprayers, there being provided in each zone receiving means for receiving water coming from the sprayers, and conveying means being arranged for feeding through, under the sprayers and above the receiving means, the containers filled with liquid to be pasteurized, and means being arranged for the heating of water, the sprayers in the pre-heating zone being connected, via conduits, to the receiving means in the pasteurization zone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.