Schematic of the system for cleaning empty containers by ionized air technology of empty container rinsers manufactured by Traktech.

An outline of the system for cleaning bottles with ionized air and F8 suction

Reading time: 5 minutes

Cleaning the inside of containers has evolved. The traditional “container washers” are a thing of the past, now machines that clean with ionized air are used. This technology complies with the strictest quality standards and controls.

A two-phase system: Blowing and suction, with optimum results for all types of industries, ideal for food or pharmaceutical sectors, as they are the most demanding with regards to regulations.

Used to clean large or small containers, removing particles from inside the container (small pieces of glass or plastic), insects, or other foreign bodies, before filling.

Due to the ionization system, they can also clean electrostatically charged particles.

How does the ionized air cleaning system work?

Picture of one of the compressed air nozzles in the empty container cleaning system of the Traktech rinsers.

Blowing is carried out by  4 compressed air nozzles working at 3- 4 bar.

Picture of one of the compressed air nozzles in the empty container cleaning system of the Traktech rinsers.

Air nozzle

The air blown is previously filtered and ionized. This system is used to clean small particles and traces of packaging, traces of particles from the container and in general, any particle that has adhered to the interior sides of the container by electrostatic charge.

Different parameters can be set in the ionization unit or controller (number five in the illustration above):

  • Percentage of positive and negative ions according to the nature of the container (PET, PP, PE, etc.).
  • Frequency.
  • Amplitude.

Controlling these parameters will allow you to adapt to the conditions of humidity and the material the container is made of.

The particles are evacuated by suction to an F8 filter (number 4 in the illustration above), where they can be collected for subsequent inspection. Heavy particles, such as pieces of glass, can be collected in a box located below the cleaning head.

Features of the ionized air blowing and suction system.

Compressed air unit. Filtering and blowing:

Picture of the central compressed air image contained in the ionised air container cleaning system of the rinsers manufactured by Traktech.

Central compressed air unit.

The compressed air unit includes air filtering equipment for the blowing nozzles. 1.4.1 filtering according to European standard ISO8573-1-2010.

Blowing eliminates:

  • Solid particles in 1 m3 of air:
    • Less than or equal to 20,000 particles of 0.1 – 0.5 µm.
    • Less than or equal to 400 particles of 0.5 – 1 µm.
    • Less than or equal to 10 particles of 1 – 5 µm.
  • Water or water vapor: Dew point less than or equal to +3ºC.
  • Oil: 0.01 mg/m3.

Position of the container for the interior cleaning process

Photo of an inverted glass jar as it passes through the compressed air plant for internal cleaning in the Traktech Rinser.

An inverted glass jar passing through the compressed air unit.

The inverted containers pass over the compressed air unit, just over the nozzles blowing ionized and filtered air.

The large particles fall between the nozzles and end up in the lower collection box, and the small particles are sucked to the F8 collector filter.

Compressed, filtered, and ionized air connection

Picture of the connections of the filtered compressed air with blue tubes and the ionized air with white tubes in the container cleaning system.

Compressed filtered air connection (blue tubes) and ionized air (white tubes).

The standard installation for blowing compressed ionized air and suction of particles and F8 filtering uses compressed air, consuming approximately 400-500 Nli/min.

In image No. 3, you can see the connections for blowing compressed, filtered, and ionized air. The blue tubes are for compressed filtered air and the white tubes are for ionized air.

Particles collector

Picture of the particulate collector filter in which the dirt and dust residues accumulate and are cleaned from the containers with the rinser.

Filter for collecting particles

According to the size of the particles, the collection is carried out at 2 points:

  1. For heavy particles, the head has an easily removable box.

Image of the rinsing machine's deposit box where the heaviest particles are deposited after the cleaning of the containers.

 

  1. For finer and smaller particles, the head has a fan that sucks the particles to an F8 2-stage filter, compliant with standard EN779:2012, comprised of a G4 pre-filter, that protects the F8 filter from possible premature breakage and therefore extends the life of the main filter.

Using this filter between the inside of the machine and the outside, it is possible to study the type of particles trapped in the filter, and in addition, the room where the machine is located is not contaminated.

The smallest particles are evacuated by suction to a G4+F8 filter-collector compliant with European standards EN779, where they can be subsequently inspected.

Picture of the suction unit of the collector filter used to extract and clean the smallest particles in the container rinser.

Filter-collection suction unit.

Picture of the ionisation unit that feeds the ionized air into the container cleaning system of the Traktech rinser.

Ionization unit.

Ionization unit

Ionized air systems eliminate the static electricity of the packaging caused by friction, separation or induction.

In case of malfunctioning in any nozzle, the ionizing system will send an alarm signal to the main PLC.

We recommend this system for plastic containers, especially PET containers, due to their high static electricity charge.

We have also had success with this technology in a can manufacturing line, which had its own quality control, obtaining highly satisfactory results. You can read more details of this success story on a production line for the production of cans for packaging milk powder for infant nutrition.

Photo of the Traketch SG-20 Rotary Rinser featuring the built-in Ionisation Unit for the ionised air cleaning system.

Rotary Rinser model SG-20. Highlighting the ionization unit.

 

Traktech has incorporated IonRinseTM into its equipment for cleaning the inside of empty containers. This system has been developed by the leading company in anti-static systems MEECH (UK), Traktech also has the exclusive distribution rights for the products of this company in Spain and Portugal.

For more information about this or any other of our solutions for handing empty bottles, please use the following contact form.

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