Water Spray Retort

Water spray retort, also called water fall retort or water cascading retort. In the sterilization process of glass bottled, tinplate cans and gas-containing packaging products, the product is highly sensitive to cold and heat and the problem of bottle explosion can be easily caused in the sterilization process of the water immersion retort. In order to make the product completely evenly pressed and heated, the water spray retort was developed.

Principle

Its principle is that the water is sprayed through the top of the circulation, side spray, or mixed spray on the top side to uniformly and uniformly sterilize and cool the food.

There are three spray methods for the water spray retort:

1. Lateral spray method. On each of the four corners of the tray, nozzles are provided, each layer of products on the pallet is heated. Since the water is continuously sprayed from the nozzles vertically mounted on the four corners of each tray, the temperature inside the retort is kept very stable at all stages of the sterilization process, ensuring that the F value changes and excessive cooking are minimized.

2. Top spray method. A spray partition is arranged on the top of the retort, and the sterilizing water is sprayed from the top to uniformly penetrate the product.

3. Full spray method. It combines the lateral spray method and top spray method, can ensure that the temperature inside the retort is uniform and no dead angle.

Application

Water spray retort is suitable for all kinds of high temperature resistant packaging materials:

1. Plastic containers: PP bottles, HDPE bottles.

2, soft bag packaging: aluminum foil bags, transparent bags, vacuum bags, retort pouches.

3. Tinplate tin cans, aluminum cans and glass bottles.

Characteristics 

1. Low steam consumption. The sterilizing water after steam atomization is directly mixed in the sterilizing pot, which not only increases the speed of temperature rise and fall, but also increases the utilization rate of steam heat energy and reduces steam consumption.

2. Use less water. Compared with the water immersion retort, a small amount of process water can meet the sterilization requirements. Therefore, the water tank of the water spray retort is smaller than the water immersion retort.

3. Excellent temperature control. Water is sprayed from different angles, steam, air and water are mixed to form a perfect temperature distribution.

4. Small noise. The spray type has low noise and a better sterilization environment.

5. No damage to the package. Perfect pressure control, pressure controlled by computer during the entire sterilization process to adapt to the changes in the internal pressure of the product packaging, so that the product packaging deformation to be the lowest. Particularly suitable for gas-containing packaging products, glass bottles, pp bottles, pp cans, etc.

6. Good looking. The sterilization water is less, and the softened water can be recycled to avoid the contamination of the outer packaging caused by the quality of process water. The sterilized product has a clean appearance .

7. Food safety. Perfect heat distribution, so that the products in the retort can achieve the best sterilization no matter where they are and what type of packaging.

8. Indirect cooling. The cooling water is not in contact with the process water, avoiding secondary pollution and eliminating the need for water treatment chemicals.

9. Low maintenance costs. Heat exchanger requires little maintenance, and all components except the pump are static.

Components

Retort body: including pot body, lid, swivel, track, seal ring, roller, locking wedge, steam, nozzle, cooling water pipe and gate valve.

Control system: PLC controller, touch screen, Control cabinet

Accessories: pallets, pallet trucks, trolleys, circulation pumps, pumps, pipeline valves。

Operation Procedures

1. Feed the packaged product into the retort and close the door. The door is then secured by a triple safety interlock. In the whole sterilization process, the mechanical and electrical methods are interlocked to ensure the safe operation of the retort.

2. Enter the softened water: Inject the sterilizing water into the retort to the appropriate water level.

3. Heating: The sterilizing water in the retort is continuously circulated, and the steam is introduced into the heat exchanger and the sterilizing water is exchanged for heat so that the temperature of the product is continuously increased.

4. Sterilization: The circulation pump continuously circulates the sterilizing water in the closed circuit system, and the water forms a mist sprayed onto the surface of the food. The pressure in the retort is adjusted to a desired range by a pressurizing valve and a pressure relief valve.

5. Cooling: Stop the steam and start to pump cold water into the heat exchanger. The sterilizing water in the pot is continuously circulated, the temperature of the sterilizing water is continuously reduced, and it is lowered to the set temperature.

6. Recycling: The circulating pump draws the sterilizing water back to the hot water tank for sterilization of the next batch of food.

7. After the recovery is completed, the pressure in the pot is vented through the exhaust valve, the air introduction valve is opened, the pressure in the pot is zero, and the product is discharged.