GEA Procomac Delivers Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Consumer awareness about environmental issues has increased due to the increased media frequency of topics such as climate change and carbon footprint. Major shifts are taking place in the packaging landscape today especially in terms of consumer preferences around "sustainable" products . those being good for people, our planet as well as our wallet. Pressure on business to embrace sustainability is increasing daily. The most widely-accepted response for sustainable packaging is a "cradle-to-cradle" approach that inspires design and engineering of packaging systems that balance health, environment, and safety benefits with bottom-line cost considerations.

GEA Procomac Sustainable Packaging Solutions

Food, dairy and beverage companies across the industry are being challenged to think about packaging in new ways. The good news is profit doesn't have to be sacrificed in order to adopt more sustainable packaging solutions. In fact, sustainable packaging can result in decreased costs, as well as increased profitability and brand value. Consumer expectations to beverage packaging have evolved - packaging should meet consumers' basic convenience needs while having the lowest possible impact on the environment; those packages that only meet one of these two criteria no longer have an advantage in the marketplace. Consumers have not only shifted toward more eco-friendly packaging, but have grown more open to new types of beverage packaging shapes, sizes and levels of transparency.

GEA Procomac systems recycle CIP liquid and rinse water.

GEA Procomac is a world leading supplier of sustainable packaging solutions. GEA Procomac is not only committed to making the safest and most reliable packaging systems - our commitment go beyond the market criteria for performance and cost. We aim to maximize the use of renewable or recycled materials while maintaining a clean and safe packaging environment. As a global leader in sustainable packaging, GEA Procomac is committed to reducing its impact all along the product lifecycle by integrating environmental aspects in product development and to encourage our customers to use renewable packaging materials and green energy in production factories. All this contributes to delivering sustainable packaging and processing solutions to our customers. From an engineering design standpoint, a GEA Procomac sustainable packaging solutions deliver the most benefit, value, and appeal with the least amount of raw material, labor, weight, chemicals, and energy.

An example of GEA Procomac's commitment to sustainable packaging solutions can be seen in the newer FDA compliant aseptic filling lines for low acid sensitive beverages. These aseptic lines uses wet peracetic acid (PAA) (please see below for more information on peracetic acid) as sterilizing medium and microbiological isolator for environment control. These aseptic systems for PET containers are available for speeds in excess of 720 bottles per minute. Additionally, the PAA aseptic filling lines features:

• Lightweight PET bottles: lower resin & conversion costs offsets chemical & water usage
• Electrical savings via integration of utility skids
• Chemicals are used & recovered continuously with a ~70% hourly yield
• Recovery & reuse of rinse water in multiple ways
• Electron beam sterilization available as an option (reduces overall chemical & water usage)
• No emissions of chemical vapors in the environment

GEA Procomac packaging lines reduce your electrical, water, and chemical costs.

GEA Procomac implements the "R's" when designing for sustainability, namely: reconsider, reevaluate, replace, realize, reuse, recapture, recovery, reduce, and report.

• Reconsider and reevaluate the sustainability of all systems and processes and replace inefficient, dangerous and/or polluting systems and materials.
• Consider the entire packaging lifecycle in the design stage in order to realize the total impact of the package, from sourcing through to the recovery.
• Source renewable materials and engineer them for easy reuse. Aim to recapture value from recycling.
• Implement processes that reduce the overall amount of material and energy consumed during the lifecycle of the package.
• Report and document all non-compliant / potentially hazardous and/or dangerous occurrences, systems, or materials to the responsible body.

The GEA Procomac vision for sustainable packaging and package design will not only produce bottom-line business benefits, but also may lead to greater community recycling efforts and to responsible disposal of used packaging, reducing waste concerns. These changes benefit the safety, health, and overall well-being of individuals and communities across the country and around the world.

More information on peracetic acid (PAA)

Basics of PAA wet sterilization in plastic bottle filling lines:

• Bottle sterilization with spraying of liquid peracetic acid (PAA) with bottles upside down; PAA solution is recovered and reused.
• Bottle rinsing with spraying of sterile water (bottles upside down); rinsing water is recovered and reused.
• Penetrating nozzles with high sterilizing solution flow rate.
• Control of each process parameter: sterilizing solution and sterile water flow rate, concentration, temperatures and pressure.
• Up to 6 log reduction on reference micro-organisms.

Advantages of aseptic PAA wet technology for PET bottles

Peracetic acid in liquid form offers many advantages compared to other sterilizing media such as H₂O₂ dry (hydrogen peroxide) when applied to PET bottles:

• PAA wet is highly effective on Cold spot contamination.
• Internal bottle sterilization is complemented by external bottle sterilization with spraying of the same liquid PAA solution to deliver log reduction of reference micro-organism based on customer requirements.
• Internal and external sterilization happen at the same time: no risk of cross-contamination between external and internal surfaces This leads to elimination of microbial load coming from outside the bloc: no intermediate CIP/SIP cycles required.
• 120 continuous production hours guaranteed for High Acid, 72 continuous production hours guaranteed for Low Acid production.
• Effectiveness of sterilization treatment is not constrained by pre-form type, or bottle weight.
• Wet PAA solution is very effective also for line environmental sterilization.
• GEA Procomac can validate its sterilising procedure using any method of microbial load calculation and inoculum type.

Peracetic acid (a.k.a. peroxyacetic acid, or PAA), is a organic compound with the formula CH₃CO₃H. Peracetic acid, an organic peroxide, is a colorless liquid with a characteristic acrid odor reminiscent of acetic acid. Peracetic acid can be highly corrosive.