Commercial manufacturers use liquid filling methods to pack liquids into various types of containers. The cosmetics, pharmaceutical, food, and beverage industries are just a few industries that profit significantly from liquid filling processes. Here are some of the most used with methods for filling today:
____________________________
1. Atmospheric Filling Method
Atmospheric pressure liquid filling methods or methods that use air pressure and relies on the weight of the liquid in the packing container. The full-filling mechanism is now operational. A liquid level regulates the filling in the atmospheric pressure filling technique. The process is as follows:
1.The liquid flows into the container through the inlet pipe, while the exhaust pipe releases the air.
2.When the right amount of liquid is in the container, the liquid feeding stops, and the irrigation stops automatically
. liquid from the system by letting it out through the exhaust pipe. The system is now available for the next filling and emptying.
Filling under atmospheric pressure often applies to low-viscosity, carbon dioxide-free, and odorless liquid products; white wine, juice, soy sauce, vinegar, milk, etc.
____________________________
2. Isobaric Filling Method
Isobaric liquid filling methods fill the container first with the compressed air in the storage tank’s upper air chamber. This way, the tension in the storage tank and the container are almost the same. The liquid runs into the container because of its own weight in this closed system. It can also blow up or inflate liquids. The steps it takes to work are;
1.Pressure is equal to inflation. 2.Gas
intake and release.
3.Liquid stop/pause.
4.Remove the pressure. To prevent bubbles and a sudden reduction in bottle pressure that might impact the precision of the dosage, let the residual gas in the bottle outgas.
____________________________
3. Vacuum Filling Method
Vacuum liquid filling methods suck out the gas within the container for filling by using the pressure differential between the liquid filling and the exhaust outlet. The pressure differential might cause the product to flow faster than equal pressure filling. It is ideal for putting liquids into small -mouth containers, dense materials, or large-capacity containers. On the other hand, overflow collection and product recirculation devices are essential for vacuum filling systems.
Various differential pressure-filling technologies have been developed due to the many kinds of vacuum creation.
A. Low Gravity Vacuum Filling
The container must maintain a certain level of vacuum with proper sealing. Low vacuum levels stop overflow and backflow during vacuum filling and keep gaps and spaces from filling incorrectly. If the container doesn’t meet the vacuum setting, no liquid will flow from the opening of the filling valve. And filling will stop automatically if there is a hole or crack in the container.
The liquid in the reservoir can flow into the bottle through the fine sleeve valve. You can use the pipe in the middle of the sleeve valve to let the air out. Gravity filling begins when the pressure in the bottle matches the low vacuum in the top half of the reservoir through the venting pipe. This happens when the container is sent to rise beneath the valve, and the valve spring opens under pressure. The filling stops by itself when the liquid level gets to the vent. This method is excellent for filling wine or alcohol bottles because it doesn’t make much noise and doesn’t need to be aerated. The wine doesn’t leak or back up, and the amount of alcohol stays the same.
B. Pure Vacuum Filling
When the filling system pressure falls below atmospheric pressure, the sealing block of the filling valve goes toward the container, and the valve immediately opens. Because the container connected to the vacuum chamber is in a vacuum, the liquid is sucked into it quickly until it is complete. A significant volume of liquid is often poured into the vacuum chamber, overflows, and is subsequently recycled.
Vacuum filling process flow:
1. Vacuum the container
2. Inlet and exhaust
3. Preventing inflow
4. Return the liquid. The residual liquid in the exhaust pipe returns to the storage tank through the vacuum chamber.
The speed of filling is faster with vacuum filling, and the product doesn’t come in contact with air as much, which helps the product last longer. The fact that it is completely closed also makes it harder for active ingredients to get out of the product.
The vacuum approach efficiently fills liquids with high viscosity, like oil and syrup. It is also suitable for filling liquids that shouldn’t come into contact with vitamins in the air, like vegetable juice and fruit juice, as well as toxic liquids like pesticides, chemical liquids, and many others.
____________________________
4. Pressure Filling Method
Pressure liquid filling methods are the inverse of the vacuum liquid filling method. The product is under positive pressure as it is at a greater pressure than the surrounding air. Filling liquids or semi-liquids is possible by either pressing a gap at the top of the storage box or pushing the product into the filling container using a pump. The pressure technique retains the pressure above atmospheric pressure at both the product’s and the vent’s ends. The pressure is more significant near the conclusion of the product, which means keeping certain beverages ‘ CO2 concentrations low.
This pressure valve is excellent for filling non-vacuumable goods. For instance, the amount of alcohol in alcoholic drinks decreases as the vacuum level increases. Hot beverages, such as 90-degree fruit juices, would quickly evaporate if vacuumed. like jams and hot sauces.