Plant-Based Milk Filling: Managing Sedimentation, Sterilization and Viscosity

Why does a piston filler suit thick product better than a valve?

A piston draws a fixed volume into a cylinder and pushes it out, so the dose does not depend on how fast the product flows. A gravity or pressure valve depends on flow time, and thick product makes that time unpredictable. For anything above a few thousand cP, the piston is the simpler answer.

What decides dose repeatability on a piston filler?

Four things: the piston seal, the product temperature, the supply pressure at the inlet, and the presence of solids at the valve seat. A worn seal leaks past the piston and the dose falls slowly, which is why the drift is invisible from one bottle to the next and obvious over a shift.

The unit behind this configuration is the Filling Machine for Viscous Product.

How do you stop product dripping onto the bottle?

A suck-back stroke at the end of the dose pulls the tail back into the nozzle. The stroke length, the nozzle bore and the product viscosity have to be matched, and they change when the recipe changes. Drip is a setting problem before it is a nozzle design problem.

Valve count, utility schedule and footprint sit on the Filling Machine for Viscous Product page.

How is a high-solid line cleaned?

High-solid product does not flush like water. The CIP circuit needs a pre-rinse at temperature, a bypass around the filler bowl, and a return path that does not leave product in a dead leg. Cleaning time on a sauce line is often longer than the production changeover, and both belong in the capacity plan.

The same question is worked through from another angle in How Piston Filling Machines Handle Viscous Products.

Frequently asked questions