New dryer for GlaxoSmithKline bottling line

A bottling line at the GlaxoSmithKline Coleford factory has been upgraded recently with a new enclosed bottle dryer that has proven to be more efficient and quieter than its predecessor

The new bottle drying system is installed on an aseptic line handling 330 and 500ml PET bottles of Ribena, Hydro Active and Lucozade Sport at line speeds ranging from 300-600 bottles/min.

It replaces a configuration of simple airknives that had proven to be not suitable for this application.

Principle reasons for the airknives failure were difficulty in ensuring correct setup for different bottle types and following cleaning/maintenance, noise and containment of moisture.

To operate effectively, airknives must be set at specific pitch to ensure correct air delivery and the angle will vary according to bottle types/shapes and sizes.

With frequent cleaning requirements and product changes drying performance is not always maximised.

Delivery of air in appropriate volume and velocity sufficient to dry bottles on a fast flowing line will always result in high noise levels.

So, for the previous drying system, which was an open one, noise was a problem.

For the same reason, the moisture blown off the bottles was dispersed into the atmosphere inside the factory.

The new system, which resolves all these problems, was supplied by Air Control Industries and is based upon the company 'JetPlate' technology.

Unlike airknives, ACI JetPlate requires no adjustment after installation.

The JetPlate system is based upon two facing plenums that serve both to deliver air and act as guide rails.

Both plenums have facing plates with stepped air delivery slots.

This configuration ensures the air delivery pattern effectively pushes liquid down and off the product as it is conveyed between the plenums.

The close proximity of the plenums also ensures there is no risk of bottles falling over.

Further, air flow is designed to ensure water and spray is driven downwards to prevent possible product re-contamination.

If plenums should require adjustment because of the introduction of new bottle designs, then this is simple to achieve and there would be no risk of incorrect positioning and consequent inefficient drying.

Finally, the JetPlate system is housed in a compact enclosure (1500 x 950 mm footprint) which serves to reduce noise levels and help contain airborne moisture.

According to Andrew Markey, Product Stream Support Engineer, the ACI JetPlate bottle drying system has improved the bottle drying significantly, providing consistent results which benefits the down-line operations of label application and product coding.

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