JP2010189034A - Method of sterilizing chamber of aseptic filling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the method of sterilizing the chamber of an aseptic filling machine for improving a sterilization capacity and for improving production efficiency by sterilizing in a short time. <P>SOLUTION: The inside of a chamber is preheated by spraying hot water whose temperature is higher than that of a sterilizing agent into the chamber before spraying the agent. In this way, when the agent is sprayed after preheating, the temperature of the agent does not go down easily enabling the maintenance of a temperature range for effective and sufficient sterilization for a longer time and the exhibition of the maximum sterilization effect right after the agent is sprayed. In addition, by using a sterilizing agent which is hotter and whose concentration is higher for sterilizing the chamber than a sterilizing agent for sterilizing a container, it is also possible to improve a sterilizing effect relative to peracetic acid resistant bacteria. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling apparatus for filling a container with a liquid such as a beverage, and more particularly to a chamber sterilization method for an aseptic filling machine that performs filling in an aseptic environment.

  A rotary filling device is used as a device for filling a container such as a PET bottle, a glass bottle, or a bottle can with a liquid such as drinking water. This rotary filling device is provided with a plurality of filling valves on the outer peripheral portion of a rotating circular wheel. While the wheel is rotated almost once and the container is conveyed in the circumferential direction, the filling valve is moved into the container. Fill in. After the filling of the liquid into the container is completed, the cap is attached to the container by a capper (plugging machine).

  By the way, in the case of drinking water or the like, it is essential to prevent contamination of germs and the like into the container. For this reason, after sterilizing the container and cap with a disinfectant, a series of processes such as filling of the product liquid and mounting of the cap are performed. The so-called aseptic filling method to be performed, or the liquid to be filled is heated to a high temperature, and the entire container capped in the conveying process is turned sideways or upside down to sterilize the liquid non-contact portion in the container. A high temperature filling method is used, which is performed by the heat of the liquid itself.

  In the former aseptic filling method, it is necessary to sterilize not only the container and the cap but also the environment for filling. For this reason, in the filling device, a bactericidal agent is flown into a liquid flow path such as a pipe or a filling valve through which a liquid to be filled flows (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, a chamber is formed by providing a surrounding wall in the space above the base frame of the filling device, and a liquid or gaseous sterilizing agent is supplied into the chamber, thereby filling the product liquid in the chamber. Sterilization is also performed.

  As the bactericides used for such sterilization, peracetic acid-based bactericides including hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid and hypochloric acid-based bactericides such as hypochlorous acid water are known. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses that a peracetic acid-based disinfectant compounded with hydrogen peroxide is heated to 60 ° C. or more and brought into contact with the inner surface of the container to sterilize the container.

JP 2007-22600 JP-A-8-58744

  By the way, sterilization of containers and caps is carried out while transporting containers and caps prior to filling with product liquid, but the liquid flow path of the filling device and sterilization in the chamber are performed when switching the type of product liquid, Performed while production is stopped, such as when switching production lots. However, if the sterilization process in the filling environment takes a long time, the time required for switching the product liquid or the production lot will be exceeded, leading to a decrease in production efficiency. For this reason, it is desired to sterilize the filling environment in a short time.

In addition, in the case of using a peracetic acid-based disinfectant, in recent years, there is a problem that resistant bacteria resistant to peracetic acid are becoming apparent. As an example of sterilization specifications, 6D (sterilization ability to reduce 1 million bacteria to 1) is required, but Paenibacillus genus bacteria found as peracetic acid resistant bacteria are, for example, peracetic acid concentration 2000 ppm, temperature 65 ° C., 8 Even if sterilization is performed under the condition of seconds, only a sterilization ability of about 0.5D can be exhibited.
Naturally, it is desired to perform sufficient sterilization against such resistant bacteria.

  The present invention has been made on the basis of such a technical problem, and provides a chamber sterilization method for an aseptic filling machine capable of enhancing the sterilization ability and improving the production efficiency by performing the sterilization in a short time. Objective.

By the way, in order to improve the sterilizing ability so as to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is conceivable to increase the concentration of the sterilizing agent or increase the temperature of the sterilizing agent.
However, when the concentration of the bactericide is increased, there is a problem that the cost of the bactericide increases. Moreover, when processing the used disinfectant, it is expensive to process a high concentration disinfectant. Furthermore, since the disinfectant is commonly used for the sterilization of containers and caps and the sterilization of filling environments, when a high concentration disinfectant is used for the disinfection of containers and caps, the residual amount of hydrogen peroxide increases, and the food There is a hygiene problem. In addition, if the container or cap is sufficiently rinsed with sterile water to remove the residual disinfectant, the production efficiency decreases due to an increase in the rinsing time, and the cost increases due to an increase in the amount of sterile water used.
In addition, if sterilization is performed on the entire container and filling environment under conditions corresponding to sterilization of resistant bacteria, excessive sterilization occurs, the amount of the sterilizing agent increases, and sterilization costs may increase.

On the other hand, when the temperature of the bactericidal agent is increased, the chamber has a much larger volume than the container etc., so the temperature of the bactericidal agent tends to decrease after spraying, and the effect of improving the bactericidal performance by heating is effectively exhibited. There is also a problem that it cannot be done.
Furthermore, when the temperature of the disinfectant is increased, there is a concern that heat shrinkage of the container may occur when the container is made of a plastic material such as PET. In particular, in recent years, the container tends to be thin in order to reduce the weight of the container and the amount of materials used, and heat shrinkage tends to occur.

The chamber sterilization method of the aseptic filling machine of the present invention made in consideration of these problems is also the sterilization in the chamber in the aseptic filling machine that supplies liquid into the sterilized container in the sterilized chamber. A method in which a heating medium heated to a temperature higher than that of a sterilizing agent used for sterilization is sprayed in the chamber to preheat the chamber, and the sterilizing agent is sprayed in the preheated chamber to A sterilizing step, and a rinsing step of spraying sterile water into the chamber to wash away the sterilizing agent.
Thus, by preheating the inside of the chamber prior to spraying the germicide, when the germicide is sprayed, the temperature drop of the germicide can be suppressed, and the germicide spray can be applied within a temperature range that exhibits a high germicidal ability. Yes.

  Here, any heating medium may be used, but it is preferable to spray heated sterile water. As the heating medium, steam, a used disinfectant, or the like can be used besides this.

  In addition, any bactericidal agent may be used. For example, a peracetic acid type bactericide containing hydrogen peroxide can be used.

The hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizing agent is preferably higher than the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizing agent for container sterilization used for sterilizing the container during operation of the aseptic filling machine.
As a result, the amount of the sterilizing agent remaining in the container can be suppressed by using a low concentration sterilizing agent for sterilizing the container while performing sterilization in the chamber reliably and in a short time with a high concentration sterilizing agent. .

It is also effective to set the temperature of the disinfectant to be higher than the temperature of the disinfectant for container disinfection used for disinfecting the container.
As a result, sterilization of the chamber can be reliably performed in a short time with a high-temperature sterilizer, and the container can be sterilized by using a sterilizer having a temperature lower than that described above, thereby suppressing thermal contraction of the container.

  The present invention relates to a sterilization method in a chamber in an aseptic filling machine that supplies a liquid into a sterilized container in a sterilized chamber, and sterilizes the chamber by spraying a sterilizing agent in the chamber. And a rinsing step in which aseptic water is sprayed into the chamber to wash out the sterilizing agent, and the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizing agent is determined from the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizing agent for container sterilization used for sterilizing the container. It is also possible to provide a chamber sterilization method for an aseptic filling machine characterized in that it is high.

  In this case, the container sterilizing agent and the chamber sterilizing agent have different concentrations, and therefore are handled separately. Here, since the concentration of the low-concentration container sterilizing agent is increased by repeatedly using it for container sterilization, the container sterilizing agent having an increased concentration can be used as a sterilizing agent for sterilizing the chamber.

  Also in this case, the temperature of the sterilizing agent may be higher than the temperature of the sterilizing agent for container sterilization used for sterilizing the container.

  The present invention also relates to a sterilization method in a chamber in an aseptic filling machine for supplying a liquid into a sterilized container in a sterilized chamber, wherein the sterilizing agent is sprayed into the chamber and A sterilizing step and a rinsing step of spraying sterile water in the chamber to wash away the sterilizing agent, and the temperature of the sterilizing agent is higher than the temperature of the sterilizing agent for container sterilization used for sterilizing the container It can also be set as the chamber sterilization method of the aseptic filling machine characterized by doing.

  According to the present invention, by preheating the chamber before spraying the disinfectant, disinfecting with a high concentration disinfectant, and a high temperature disinfectant, the disinfection ability is increased and the disinfection is performed in a short time to increase the production efficiency. Can be increased. In addition, the amount of disinfectant used can be reduced to reduce costs, and adverse effects such as heat shrinkage of the container can be avoided.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the aseptic drink filling machine in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of the sterilization process in 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of the sterilization process in 2nd and 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the aseptic drink filling machine in 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the modification of the aseptic drink filling machine in 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the verification data of Example 1. It is a figure which shows the verification data of Example 2. It is a figure which shows the time required for disinfection of a peracetic acid resistant microbe. It is a figure which shows the verification data of Example 3.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of an aseptic beverage filling machine (aseptic filling machine) 1 in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 includes a carry-in conveyor 10 for carrying a container 100 into the aseptic filling machine 1, a sterilizing device 11 for sterilizing the container 100, a rinsing device 13 for rinsing the container 100, and sterilization and rinsing. A filling device 14 for filling the finished container 100 with a liquid, a capper 15 for attaching the cap 20 to the container 100 filled with the liquid, and a carry-out conveyor 16 for carrying the container 100 out of the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 are mainly provided. . Between the carry-in conveyor 10, the sterilizer 11, the rinsing device 13, the filling device 14, the capper 15, and the carry-out conveyor 16, a transfer star wheel 17 and the like are provided so that the containers 100 are delivered and the like. It has become.

In these sterilizer 11, rinse device 13, filling device 14, and capper 15, the conveyance path of the container 100 is provided on the base frame 21, and on the base frame 21, the sterilizer 11, the rinse device 13, the filling device 14, In order to maintain the transport path of the container 100 in the capper 15 in an aseptic environment, a chamber 50 is provided to cover the side and upper side of the space on the base frame 21.
In addition, a spray nozzle (not shown) in the form of a shower or a sprinkler is provided at the upper and lower portions in the chamber 50 in order to spray a sterilizing agent, a rinsing liquid or the like in the chamber 50.
In addition, a drain port (not shown) for collecting the sprayed disinfectant and the rinsing liquid is formed in the base frame 21, and an open / close valve is provided in the drain port.

Hereinafter, several embodiment is shown about the sterilization process in the chamber 50 in the aseptic drink filling machine 1 of the above structures.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of sterilization processing in the present embodiment. In addition, the following series of processes can be automatically performed when the controller provided in the beverage filling device executes processes based on a predetermined computer program.

<Hot water spraying process>
As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, in the sterilization process in the chamber 50, first, hot water (heating medium) is sprayed.
For this reason, in the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 of the present embodiment, a heater for heating the hot water to be sprayed is provided.
The hot water is heated to at least a temperature higher than the temperature of the disinfectant to be sprayed later. The temperature is preferably 70 to 90 ° C, more preferably 80 to 90 ° C.
Hot water heated to such a temperature is sprayed from the spray nozzle into the chamber 50 for a predetermined time, and the chamber 50 is preheated. The bactericidal effect by hot water can also be expected.
The duration of hot water spraying depends on the volume of the chamber 50 and the like, but is preferably about 1 to 15 minutes. If the spraying duration is too short, the preheating effect in the chamber 50 is low, and if it is too long, the sterilization treatment time is lengthened.

  The sprayed hot water is discharged out of the chamber 50 through the drain port.

<Disinfectant spraying process>
After preheating is completed by spraying hot water, spray the disinfectant from the spray nozzle.
As the germicide, a peracetic acid germicide containing hydrogen peroxide is used. A peracetic acid-based disinfectant containing hydrogen peroxide is in an aqueous solution containing peracetic acid, water, acetic acid, and hydrogen peroxide in a mixed state in a chemical equilibrium state as shown in the following formula.
CH ₃ COOOH (peracetic acid) + H ₂ O (water) ⇔CH ₃ COOH (acetic acid) + H ₂ O ₂ (hydrogen peroxide)

As the sterilizer used here, the sterilizer used for sterilization of the container 100 by the sterilizer 11 can be used as it is. This bactericide is preferably used by adjusting the concentration of hydrogen peroxide contained in the peracetic acid bactericide within a range of 0.2 to 35%. Although it is possible to sterilize in the range of 0.2% or more and less than 2%, when spraying a bactericide for the purpose of obtaining a high sterilizing ability against peracetic acid-resistant bacteria, It is preferred to use a 35% peracetic acid fungicide. If the hydrogen peroxide concentration is less than 2%, the sterilizing ability against peracetic acid-resistant bacteria is not sufficient, and if it exceeds 35%, it takes time to rinse the hydrogen peroxide remaining in the chamber 50. In order to obtain 6D or more as the sterilizing ability, 5% or more is preferable. In order to shorten the time of the hydrogen peroxide concentration reduction step while obtaining a stable bactericidal effect against peracetic acid resistant bacteria, it is more preferably 5 to 20%.
The D value for evaluating the sterilization ability is a logarithm display value where the sterilization ability for reducing 10 bacteria to 1 is 1D, and the sterilization ability for reducing 10 ⁿ bacteria to 1 is nD.
Peracetic acid contained in peracetic acid-based fungicides is excellent in sterilizing ability against bacteria other than peracetic acid-resistant bacteria, but if it is less than 500 ppm, the sterilizing ability is not sufficient, and if it exceeds 4000 ppm, the running cost is high due to excessive use of the sterilizing agent. Therefore, the content is preferably set to 500 to 4000 ppm. In order to carry out rinsing in a short time while obtaining a stable bactericidal effect, it is more preferable to set it to 1500 to 2000 ppm.

The peracetic acid fungicide as the fungicide is preferably supplied at a temperature of 60 to 80 ° C.
The supply temperature is preferably 60 ° C. or higher and more preferably 65 ° C. or higher in order to increase the sterilizing ability.

  The spraying time of the disinfectant is preferably 5 minutes or more in order to uniformly disinfect the entire chamber 50, and even if it exceeds 20 minutes, the disinfecting effect is saturated, so it should be 5 to 20 minutes. preferable. From the viewpoint of shortening the process time, it is more preferably 5 to 10 minutes.

  The sprayed disinfectant is discharged out of the chamber 50 through the drain port. At this time, the discharged germicide is preferably collected in a germicide recovery tank and circulated for spraying in a subsequent germicide spraying step.

<Rinsing process>
In the rinsing step, aseptic water is sprayed from the spray nozzle as rinsing water, and the disinfectant in the chamber 50 is washed away. Injection of sterile water is preferred.
The rinse water to be sprayed is preferably heated to warm water in order to enhance the rinse effect.
For this reason, in the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 of the present embodiment, a heater for heating the rinse water to be sprayed is provided.
The rinse water to be sprayed is preferably 30 to 50 ° C., for example, and more preferably 35 to 45 ° C.
The duration of hot water spraying depends on the volume of the chamber 50 and the like, but is preferably about 5 to 10 minutes.

  The sprayed rinse water is discharged out of the chamber 50 through the drain port. The discharged rinse water may be collected in a collection tank and used for spraying in the hot water spraying process.

  As described above, hot water having a temperature higher than the temperature of the germicide is sprayed into the chamber 50 before the germicide is sprayed to preheat the chamber 50. Thereby, when a disinfectant is sprayed after preheating, the temperature of the disinfectant is unlikely to decrease. Thereby, the temperature range of the bactericidal agent having a sufficient bactericidal effect can be maintained for a longer time, and the bactericidal effect of the bactericidal agent can be exerted to the maximum immediately after the spraying of the bactericidal agent. As a result, sufficient sterilization can be performed in a short sterilization treatment time, the operation stop time of the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 can be shortened, and the production efficiency can be increased.

  Moreover, the bactericidal effect by the hot water sprayed for preheating is also obtained synergistically, and a high bactericidal effect is obtained.

[Second Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, a high bactericidal performance is obtained by spraying a bactericidal agent having a high concentration of hydrogen peroxide.
As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, first, the disinfectant is sprayed into the chamber 50.

  The disinfectant used at this time has a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide than the disinfectant used for disinfecting the container 100 by the disinfecting device 11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 includes a container sterilizing liquid tank 60 for storing a sterilizing agent used for sterilizing the container 100 and a chamber sterilizing liquid tank for storing a sterilizing agent used for sterilizing the chamber 50. 70. Further, when the container 100 is sterilized, that is, when the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 is operated, the sterilizing agent recovered from the drain port is collected in the container sterilizing liquid tank 60, and when the chamber 50 is sterilized, that is, the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 is stopped. A switching valve 80 is provided in the piping from the drain port in order to sometimes collect the bactericidal agent collected from the drain port in the chamber sterilizing liquid tank 70.

  Here, the components, temperature, etc. of the sterilizing agent used for sterilizing the container 100 and the chamber 50 are basically in the same range as the range shown in the first embodiment, and the sterilizing agent for sterilizing the chamber 50 is used. Only the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is set higher than the concentration of the sterilizing agent in the container 100. Specifically, when the concentration of hydrogen peroxide of the sterilizing agent used for sterilizing the container 100 is about 0.3%, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide of the sterilizing agent used for sterilizing the chamber 50 is 2.0%. It is preferable to set the degree.

  After the disinfectant is sprayed into the chamber 50, it is discharged from the drain port to the outside of the chamber 50, collected in the chamber disinfectant tank 70, and the disinfectant is recycled.

  Thereafter, in the same manner as in the <rinsing step> of the first embodiment, rinsing water (hot water) is sprayed into the chamber 50 to wash away the disinfectant in the chamber 50.

As described above, the sterilization effect against peracetic acid-resistant bacteria can be enhanced by using a sterilizing agent having a higher concentration than the sterilizing agent used for sterilizing the container 100 for sterilizing the chamber 50. Thereby, the bactericidal effect by a bactericide can be exhibited to the maximum. As a result, as in the first embodiment, sufficient sterilization can be performed in a short sterilization treatment time, the operation stop time of the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 can be shortened, and the production efficiency can be increased.
In addition, since a sterilizing agent having a lower concentration than that for the chamber 50 can be used for sterilizing the container 100 in the sterilizing apparatus 11, it is possible to prevent the components of the sterilizing agent from remaining in the container 100, and The time required for rinsing the bactericide is not increased.

  Furthermore, since the sterilizing agent for sterilization of the high-concentration chamber 50 is collected and reused, the collection processing cost of the used sterilizing agent, the amount of the sterilizing agent used can be suppressed, and the running cost can be suppressed. .

In the above-described embodiment, the container sterilizing liquid tank 60 and the chamber sterilizing liquid tank 70 are provided, but a configuration in which a sterilizing agent is supplied from one to the other can also be adopted.
That is, during operation, the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, which is a sterilizing agent component, in the container sterilizing liquid tank 60 gradually increases, and this is sterilized through a bypass pipe 90 as shown in FIG. The liquid tank 70 can be supplied.
As a result, in the container sterilizing liquid tank 60, the amount of water to be replenished in order to maintain the concentration of the sterilizing agent within an appropriate range can be suppressed, and the amount of the sterilizing agent used in the entire beverage filling apparatus can be suppressed. Can be reduced.

[Third embodiment]
In this embodiment, high sterilization performance is obtained by spraying a high-temperature disinfectant.
As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, first, the disinfectant is sprayed into the chamber 50.

  The concentration of the disinfectant used at this time is the same as that in the first embodiment, and the supply temperature thereof is higher than the supply temperature of the disinfectant used for disinfecting the container 100 by the disinfection device 11. For example, when the supply temperature of the sterilizer used for sterilization of the container 100 by the sterilizer 11 is about 65 ° C., the sterilizer used for sterilization of the chamber 50 is 70 to 80 ° C.

  After the disinfectant is sprayed into the chamber 50, it is discharged from the drain port to the outside of the chamber 50, collected in the chamber disinfectant tank 70, and the disinfectant is recycled.

  Thereafter, in the same manner as in the <rinsing step> of the first embodiment, rinsing water (hot water) is sprayed into the chamber 50 to wash away the disinfectant in the chamber 50.

As described above, when the supply temperature of the sterilizer used for sterilization of the chamber 50 is set higher than the supply temperature of the sterilizer used for sterilization of the container 100 by the sterilizer 11, Even when the temperature of the bactericidal agent is lowered, the temperature range of the bactericidal agent having a sufficient bactericidal effect can be maintained for a longer time. Thereby, similarly to said 1st embodiment, the bactericidal effect by a bactericide can be exhibited to the maximum immediately after the spraying start of a bactericide. As a result, sufficient sterilization can be performed in a short sterilization treatment time, the operation stop time of the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 can be shortened, and the production efficiency can be increased.
In addition, since the sterilizer having a temperature lower than the temperature of the sterilizer used for sterilization of the chamber 50 can be used for sterilization of the container 100, thermal contraction during sterilization of the container 100 can be prevented.

By the way, when each method shown in the first to third embodiments is compared, all the sterilization performance can be obtained in a short time.
On the other hand, when paying attention to the cost, in the method of the first embodiment in which preheating with hot water is performed, a heater for obtaining hot water is required, which is costly.
Further, the technique of the second embodiment for increasing the concentration of the bactericide requires a hydrogen peroxide stock solution injection device to increase and maintain the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, which is costly. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the sterilizing agent is separately used for the container and the chamber, it is necessary to add a sterilizing liquid tank, which is costly.
Although the method of the third embodiment for increasing the temperature of the sterilizing agent needs to heat the sterilizing agent, heating up to about 65 ° C. is conventionally performed, and therefore, only the set temperature of the heater is changed. Costs little.
Therefore, a method to be adopted may be determined in consideration of such equipment costs and running costs.

Here, the result of verifying the configuration of the first embodiment is shown.
After spraying hot water heated to 85 ° C. for 10 minutes to the chamber 50 of the aseptic beverage filling machine 1 configured as shown in FIG. 1, the hot water is discharged over 1 minute, and then a capper or the like. Assuming that the part was sterilized, it was left for 11 minutes. And 65 degreeC disinfectant was sprayed for 10 minutes.
The temperature change of the inner wall surface of the chamber 50 at that time was examined.

In addition, for comparison, hot water was not sprayed, but a disinfectant at 65 ° C. was sprayed for 10 minutes, and the temperature change of the inner wall surface of the chamber 50 at this time was also examined.
The result is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, when spraying the sterilizing agent after spraying hot water, the inner wall surface temperature of the chamber 50 becomes 65 ° C. or more after one minute has elapsed after the spraying of the sterilizing agent is started. It was confirmed that the temperature was maintained at 65 ° C. or higher. Thereby, it was confirmed that sufficient sterilization performance can be maintained early and for a long time.
On the other hand, when spraying only the disinfectant without spraying hot water, it is confirmed that the inner wall surface temperature of the chamber 50 does not reach 65 ° C. even after 3 minutes have passed, and sufficient sterilization is obtained. It was expected to take a long time.

<Relationship between hydrogen peroxide concentration and bactericidal performance>
Next, in accordance with the second embodiment, the difference in sterilization performance when the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizer was varied was verified.
For the genus Paenibacillus that is resistant to peracetic acid, when the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the bactericidal agent is 0.3% (corresponding to the bactericidal concentration of the conventional container 100), the hydrogen peroxide concentration is 2.0%. The time required until a 6D bactericidal effect was obtained was compared with the case where it was increased.
The bactericidal performance was evaluated by putting the bacteria to be evaluated into a bactericide adjusted to a desired temperature and concentration, passing through a bactericidal time under experimental conditions, quickly neutralizing with a reducing agent, and then filtering with a filter. The filter is placed on the medium and cultured for 1 week at a temperature (30 ° C.) at which the evaluated bacteria can be easily grown. The number of colonies generated (number of surviving bacteria) is counted, and the D value is obtained from the following formula. Converted considerably.
D value = log (number of initial bacteria / number of colonies)

The result is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the case of a disinfectant having a hydrogen peroxide concentration of 0.3%, if the disinfectant temperature is 60 ° C., it takes 20 minutes or more to obtain 6D disinfection performance. It takes more than a minute.
On the other hand, when the hydrogen peroxide concentration is increased to 2.0%, to obtain 6D sterilization performance, the sterilization temperature is 60 minutes at about 7 minutes, and 65 ° C is only 4 minutes. It has been confirmed that the sterilization performance is greatly improved by increasing it.

<Relationship between sterilization temperature and sterilization time for peracetic acid resistant bacteria>
First, sterilization conditions effective against peracetic acid resistant bacteria were examined.
For the genus Paenibacillus, which is a peracetic acid-resistant bacterium, the time required until a 6D bactericidal effect was obtained was obtained by experiments using a bactericide with a peracetic acid concentration of 2000 ppm.

The result is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the case of the peracetic acid resistant bacterium Paenibacillus genus chivensis, if the bactericidal temperature is 60 ° C., it takes 20 minutes or more to obtain 6D bactericidal performance.
In the case of the peracetic acid resistant bacterium Paenibacillus genus, if it is attempted to obtain 6D sterilization performance within 8 minutes, the disinfectant temperature needs to be 70 ° C. or higher and 75 ° C. or higher if it is obtained within 5 minutes. confirmed.

<Verification of disinfectant supply temperature>
Based on this result, the temperature change of the inner wall surface of the chamber 50 when the bactericide was heated to 65 ° C. and 75 ° C. and supplied into the chamber 50 was also examined.
The result is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the supply temperature is 75 ° C., the inner wall surface temperature of the chamber 50 is 70 ° C. at which high sterilization performance can be exhibited as shown in FIG. 70-75 ° C is easily maintained after that, but when the supply temperature is 65 ° C, the temperature of the inner wall surface of the chamber 50 reaches about 60 ° C for about two and a half minutes. After that, it was confirmed that the sterilization performance remained at about 65 ° C., which is not so high.

In addition, it is effective to combine the structures shown in the first to third embodiments as appropriate. That is, preheating prior to disinfecting the disinfectant, dispersal of a disinfectant having a higher concentration than the disinfectant for the container 100, and dispersal of a disinfectant having a high temperature are appropriately combined. Thereby, the effect shown by the said 1st-3rd embodiment can be acquired synergistically.
In addition to this, as long as it does not depart from the gist of the present invention, the configuration described in the above embodiment can be selected or changed to another configuration as appropriate.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Aseptic beverage filling machine (aseptic filling machine), 14 ... Filling device, 20 ... Cap, 21 ... Base mount, 50 ... Chamber, 60 ... Container sterilization liquid tank, 70 ... Chamber sterilization liquid tank, 80 ... Switching valve , 90 ... Bypass pipe, 100 ... Container

Claims (9)

In the aseptic filling machine for supplying liquid into a sterilized container in a sterilized chamber, the sterilization method in the chamber,
Spraying a heating medium heated to a temperature higher than a sterilizing agent used for sterilization in the chamber, and preheating the chamber;
Spraying the disinfectant into the preheated chamber to sterilize the chamber;
A rinsing step of spraying sterile water into the chamber to wash away the disinfectant;
A method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine, comprising:   The method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine according to claim 1, wherein heated sterile water is sprayed as the heating medium.   The method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a peracetic acid-based disinfectant containing hydrogen peroxide is used as the disinfectant.   The method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine according to claim 3, wherein the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizing agent is higher than the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizing agent for sterilizing a container used for sterilizing the container. .   The chamber sterilization method for an aseptic filling machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the temperature of the sterilizing agent is higher than the temperature of the sterilizing agent for container sterilization used for sterilizing the container. In the aseptic filling machine for supplying liquid into a sterilized container in a sterilized chamber, the sterilization method in the chamber,
Sterilizing the inside of the chamber by spraying a disinfectant in the chamber;
A rinsing step of spraying sterile water into the chamber to wash away the disinfectant;
With
A method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine, characterized in that the hydrogen peroxide concentration of the sterilizing agent is higher than the hydrogen peroxide concentration of a sterilizing agent for sterilizing a container used for sterilizing the container.   The method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine according to claim 6, wherein the sterilizing agent for container sterilization whose concentration is increased by being repeatedly used for sterilizing the container is used as the sterilizing agent for sterilizing the chamber.   8. The method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the temperature of the sterilizing agent is higher than the temperature of the sterilizing agent for sterilizing a container used for sterilizing the container. In the aseptic filling machine for supplying liquid into a sterilized container in a sterilized chamber, the sterilization method in the chamber,
Sterilizing the inside of the chamber by spraying a disinfectant in the chamber;
A rinsing step of spraying sterile water into the chamber to wash away the disinfectant;
With
A method for sterilizing a chamber of an aseptic filling machine, characterized in that a temperature of the sterilizing agent is higher than a temperature of a sterilizing agent for sterilizing a container used for sterilizing the container.

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