Coimbatore

marketing@foodprotech.in

Get Help +9178128 88177

🍹 Juice Machinery

Fruit Washer and Sorter

This initial stage is crucial for ensuring the quality and safety of the raw material.

  • Function: Removes dirt, leaves, small stones, and damaged fruit.
  • Technical Details:
    • Washer Type: Often a flume washer (using water currents to carry and clean) followed by a brush washer (rotating brushes for scrubbing). Some include air bubble agitation.
    • Capacity: Ranges from 1 to 20+ tons/hour, depending on the line size.
    • Material : Food-grade stainless steel (SS304 or SS316).
    • Sorter : Manual inspection belts or automated optical sorters (using cameras and air jets) to detect color defects, foreign material, and size variations.
    • Water Usage : Can be equipped with water recycling systems to reduce consumption

Fruit Crusher/Grinder (for hard fruits like Apples, Carrots)

After washing, hard fruits need to be broken down to facilitate juice extraction.

  • Function: Reduces whole fruits into a pulp or mash, breaking down cell walls to release juice.
  • Technical Details:
    • Type: Hammermills, grater mills, or knife mills. Hammermills are common for apples and pears, using rapidly rotating hammers to crush the fruit against a screen.
    • Motor Power: Typically 15 kW to 75 kW, depending on capacity.
    • Output Particle Size : Adjustable screens determine the fineness of the mash, impacting juice yield and clarity.
    • Material : Stainless steel crushing components for hygiene and corrosion resistance.
    • Safety Features : Overload protection and emergency stops.

Industrial Juice Press (e.g., Belt Press, Pneumatic Press)

This machine is where the actual juice is separated from the fruit solids (pomace).

  • Function: Extracts juice from the fruit mash or whole fruit.
  • Technical Details:
    • Belt Press (shown): Continuous operation, high yield. Mash is spread onto a permeable belt and pressed between two rollers.
      • Pressure : Up to 2-3 bar.
      • Yield: Typically 75-90% depending on fruit and pre-treatment.
      • Capacity : From 500 kg/hr to 10,000 kg/hr.
    • Pneumatic Press (for berries, grapes): Batch operation, gentle extraction using an inflatable membrane within a perforated cylinder.
      • Pressure: Controlled inflation of the membrane, up to 6 bar.
    • Material : All food contact parts are stainless steel.
    • Control System :PLC-controlled for precise pressure and speed adjustments.

Centrifugal Separator / Decanter

Clarification of the raw juice is a critical step for quality and stability.

  • Function: Mechanically separates fine pulp, suspended solids, and sometimes oil (e.g., from citrus) from the raw juice using centrifugal force.
  • Technical Details:
    • Type:
      • Disc Stack Centrifuge : High-speed separation, used for fine clarification of juice. Can be designed for liquid-liquid (e.g., juice-oil) or liquid-solid separation.
      • Decanter Centrifuge: Slower speed, larger capacity, used for removing coarser solids from the juice or clarifying larger volumes of slurry.
    • G-force: Up to 10,000 G for disc stack centrifuges.
    • Capacity : Varies widely, from 1,000 L/hr to 50,000 L/hr.
    • Material :Stainless steel bowl and internal components.
    • Operation :Self-cleaning designs (for disc stack) allow for continuous operation with automatic discharge of solids.

Plate Heat Exchanger (Pasteurizer)

Before the juice can be packaged, it must be thermally treated to ensure food safety and shelf stability.

  • Function: Rapidly heats juice to kill pathogens and deactivates enzymes that cause spoilage.
  • Technical Details:
    • Process: HTST (High-Temperature Short-Time).
    • Temperature Range: 71°C - 95°C depending on the pH of the juice.
    • Holding Time: Typically 15 to 30 seconds.
    • Energy Recovery : Uses "regeneration" sections where hot pasteurized juice pre-heats the incoming cold juice, saving up to 90% of heating energy.
    • Control : Fully automated PLC with a "flow diversion valve" that sends juice back for re-treatment if the temperature drops below the safety setpoint.

Monoblock filling capping machine

This is a "3-in-1" system that rinses, fills, and caps the juice in a sterile environment.

  • Function: Accurately measures juice into bottles/cartons and applies a tamper-proof seal.
  • Technical Details:
    • Filling Method: Gravity filling or Vacuum filling for high-viscosity juices.
    • Sterility: Often operates under a Laminar Flow Hood with HEPA-filtered air to maintain an aseptic environment.
    • Speed : From 2,000 to 36,000 bottles per hour (BPH).
    • Accuracy : Filling precision of $\pm 1\%$.
    • Capping : Magnetic torque heads ensure caps are tightened perfectly without damaging the plastic threads.