PRODUCT PREHEATING WITH HEAT PUMP

Abstract

A method for hot filling of liquids uses a flash pasteurizer including a first heat exchanger, a filling station and a cooling tunnel including a plurality of cooling cells. The liquids are filled into containers in the filling station. The filled containers are cooled in the cooling tunnel using a cooling liquid. The liquids are heated before being filled into the containers, by feeding thermal energy from the cooling liquid that was heated during the cooling of the filled containers to the flash pasteurizer using a separate heat pump.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2011 077 375.4, filed Jun. 10, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The invention relates to a method for the hot filling of liquids, in particular juices, with a flash pasteuriser, which comprises a first heat exchanger, a filling station for filling the liquids into containers, for example bottles, and a cooling tunnel, which comprises a plurality of cooling cells, for cooling the filled containers by means of a cooling liquid, for example water, and also relates to an appropriate device for implementing the method.

BACKGROUND

In the state of the art it is known that liquids, in particular beverages or similar items containing juice, are heated before filling and are then filled warm/hot. The hot filling here ensures the sterilisation of the container and furthermore it simultaneously provides pasteurization of the product, say the beverage. After filling the liquid into the containers the products in the containers, which are typically closed, are cooled to at least ambient temperature or a desired storage temperature for improved handling and also for storage purposes.

To heat the juice typically vapour is used, for example steam, which is passed through a heat exchanger, thus transferring the heat from the steam to the product to be warmed/preheated, i.e. the beverage juice. Then, for the purposes of cooling typically a cooling tower and/or a refrigerating plant is employed.

For example, the liquid to be heated can be passed at approximately room temperature into the heat exchanger and is heated therein to temperatures of 80-90° C. Then the filling into containers typically follows. For cooling the containers filled with the product typically a cooling section such as say a cooling tunnel is used which is connected to a cooling tower. In the simplest case the thermal energy present in the containers with the filled, still hot liquid is dissipated into the surroundings. This energy is then lost from the system.

With regard to an at least partial recovery of the heat present in the liquid in the containers, in the state of the art it is known to employ heat exchangers. The cooling water used during cooling is heated due to the cooling process. A heat exchanger can extract thermal energy from the cooling water heated in this way, so that it can be used again for preheating. For example, DE 103 51 689 A1 shows the return of process liquid for the purpose of using the heat from the cooling liquid with regard to preheating. Here one problem is however that a heat exchanger can only transfer certain, suitable energies, so that the heated cooling water must attain a certain temperature before it can be used for heat transfer to other liquids.

DE 10 2007 003 976 A1 also describes a pasteurizing device with an integrated heat pump, whereby a pasteurizing device comprises a plurality of the same type of pasteurizing zones or pasteurizing segments, whereby thermal energy can be fed from a colder segment of the pasteurizing device to a hotter segment of the pasteurizing device. In this respect exclusively filled, closed containers are treated in the pasteurizing device. Here, the heat pump is integrated into the pasteurizing device, by means of which the configuration and complexity of the pasteurizing device are increased.

SUMMARY

In view of the above mentioned problems and the discussed state of the art, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a device for the hot filling of liquids with an efficient thermal recovery which is also robust and easy to operate.

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method for hot filling of liquids using a flash pasteurizer including a first heat exchanger, a filling station and a cooling tunnel including a plurality of cooling cells. The liquids are filled into containers in the filling station. The filled containers are cooled in the cooling tunnel using a cooling liquid. The liquids are heated before being filled into the containers, by feeding thermal energy from the cooling liquid that was heated during the cooling of the filled containers to the flash pasteurizer using a separate heat pump.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional product preheating of liquids, for example beverage juices, with subsequent cooling by means of a cooling section which is connected to a cooling tower;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of the device according to the invention for preheating a product, i.e. liquids, in a flash pasteuriser before the filling and subsequent cooling;

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of a device for the hot filling of liquids with a heat pump and additionally a heat exchanger, which are connected in series;

FIG. 4 shows a further embodiment of a device for the hot filling of liquids with a heat pump and a heat exchanger, which are connected in parallel.

In an embodiment, the invention provides a method for the hot filling of liquids, in particular juices, with a flash pasteuriser, which comprises a first heat exchanger, a filling station for filling the liquids into containers, for example bottles, and a cooling tunnel, which comprises a plurality of cooling cells, for cooling the filled containers by means of a cooling liquid, for example water, whereby the liquids are heated in the flash pasteuriser before filling into containers in the filling station, in that thermal energy from the cooling liquid from the cooling tunnel heated during the cooling process is passed to the flash pasteuriser by means of a separate heat pump.

In the method the liquid to be filled, the product, for example beverage juice, is heated in the flash pasteuriser and namely already before filling. For this purpose the thermal energy from the cooling liquid, which heats up during the cooling process in the cooling cells of the cooling tunnel, is passed to the flash pasteuriser by means of the separate heat pump. In this way it is no longer necessary to heat the liquid to be heated up with steam. Consequently, a significant simplification of the device is achieved, because the steam heating device, feed line and discharge line for the steam can be omitted. Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to achieve a certain temperature level of the cooling liquid before it then flows through a heat exchanger in order to provide a suitable thermal transfer in the heat exchanger. In this way the degree of utilisation of the recovery is increased. The performance figure, COP (Coefficient of Performance), of the heat pump is here noticeably better than when using a heat exchanger. Here, the heat pump facilitates both cooling/heating for low costs. The costs essentially arise with regard to the electrical power consumed, which can be used for the operation of the heat pump.

In the method as described above, the thermal energy passed from the heat pump to the liquids by means of the first heat exchanger can contribute to the heating thereof. Consequently, the thermal energy fed from the heat pump, for example with the aid of a suitable liquid, such as water, can be transferred in the first heat exchanger to the liquid to be heated. After the heat exchange the liquid made cooler by the heat exchange can now be passed back to the heat pump.

In the method as described above, the heating of the liquids can take place completely by the thermal energy fed by means of the heat pump. The heat pump and the thermal energy taken from the cooling cells provide the heating of the product.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention as described above the preheating of the liquids to be filled, for example, beverage juices, can take place completely by the thermal energy fed by means of the heat pump. That is, with the aid of the thermal energy extracted from the cooling tunnel and the heat pump and the electrical energy supplied to the heat pump, the heating of the liquids can take place completely before the filling without additional heating stages being required.

In the method as described above a second heat exchanger can be provided additionally in series with the heat pump for heating the liquids before filling such that the heated cooling liquid passes from the cooling tunnel to the second heat exchanger and thereafter to the heat pump, so that at least one part of the thermal energy of the heated cooling liquid can be initially transferred by means of the second heat exchanger to the liquid to be heated and thereafter at least one further part of the thermal energy can be transferred by means of the heat pump to the flash pasteuriser for further heating of the liquids.

With regard to the heating of the product before filling, the second heat exchanger can be provided in series with a heat pump. With regard to the heating of liquids, the series connection of the second heat exchanger to the heat pump in particular facilitates an increase in the temperature level in the heat pump and therefore also an improvement in the performance figure of the heat pump. In this respect, typically two steps occur in the heating of the liquid to be filled—the heat transfer by means of the second heat exchanger in particular for directly transferable thermal energies from the cooling tunnel to the liquid and then the increase of the energy level to the specified temperature for the preheating of the liquid, i.e. of the product, with the aid of the heat pump.

A second heat exchanger can be provided additionally in parallel with the heat pump for heating the liquids before filling such that at least part of the heated cooling liquid passes from the cooling tunnel to the second heat exchanger and at least a further part of the heated cooling liquid passes from the cooling tunnel to the heat pump, so that at least one part of the thermal energy of the heated cooling liquid can be transferred by means of the second heat exchanger to the liquid to be heated and at least one further part of the thermal energy can be transferred by means of the heat pump to the flash pasteuriser for further heating of the liquids.

With regard to the heating of the product before filling, the second heat exchanger can be provided in parallel to the heat pump. According to the parallel configuration of the heat pump and the second heat exchanger with regard to the heating of the product, a first cascade of cooling cells can, for example, be used for direct thermal transfer through the second heat exchanger. This cooling liquid is for example returned to the cooling cells after the heat exchange in the second heat exchanger. A second, parallel cascade of cooling cells is for example connected to the heat pump, for example additionally with the aid of a simple pump, whereby the energy level of the thermal energy of the second cascade can be increased so that this energy level for heating the liquids to be filled can be raised to the desired filling temperature.

In the method as described above the part of the heated cooling liquid, which passes to the second heat exchanger, can be hotter than the part of the heated cooling liquid, which passes to the heat pump.

For example, the temperature in the group of the first cooling cells, which are typically arranged sequentially, is higher than in the group of the second cooling cells, which are similarly typically arranged sequentially. Due to the parallel configuration of the second heat exchanger corresponding to the first cascade and of the heat pump corresponding to the second cascade a still higher energy level and therefore a higher performance figure of the heat pump can be achieved. The control of the device according to the invention as described above can for example be implemented with a suitable control unit, such as a computer.

The invention also comprises a device for implementing the method for the hot filling of liquids as described above.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention the flash pasteuriser, filling station and cooling tunnel can each be formed separately. Each of these elements can therefore be formed separately from the other elements. The elements can be connected by suitable conveyor and/or transport elements, for example pipes for the transport of products or other liquids, which can act as auxiliary liquids for the transfer of heat, as well as conveyor belts or a transport facility for containers.

In the device according to an embodiment of the invention the first heat exchanger of the flash pasteuriser as described above can comprise a plate heat exchanger, PHE, or a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, STHE. That is, currently available types of heat exchanger can be used to transfer the thermal energy supplied by the heat pump to the liquid to be heated. Thus, the heat transfer of the liquid to be heated in the flash pasteuriser is typically decoupled from the filling process, which typically occurs after heating, and the cooling process which follows.

The heat pump used in the device according to an embodiment of the invention can comprise for example a compression heat pump, for example an electrically driven compression heat pump, an ammonia heat pump or a heat pump with the transcritical CO2 process. That is, currently available types of heat pump can be used, in particular those in which ammonia or CO2 are used as coolant. The latter enables the use of particularly energy efficient heat pumps, whereby at the same time coolant such as nitrogen or halogen alkanes can be dispensed with, whereby the latter may possibly be undesirable for filling systems and halogen alkanes furthermore may not be desirable due to their property as climate-damaging gases.

The heat pump of a device according to an embodiment of the invention, as described above, can typically be provided between one of the cooling cells of the cooling tunnel and the first heat exchanger of the flash pasteuriser. The heat pump can therefore be provided between the multi-cell cooling tunnel and the heat exchanger. Here for example, the heated coolant/liquid from the cooling tunnel can be pumped to the heat pump by means of a simple pump. After the heat exchange the now cooler liquid is returned to the cooling tunnel, for example again with an additional pump.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention, as described above, the cooling cells of the cooling tunnel are for example joined together such that cooling liquid from one cooling cell can be pumped into one or a plurality of neighbouring cooling cells, for example in particular from a colder cooling cell to a hotter cooling cell. After filling, the filled and closed containers pass through the cooling tunnel, i.e. a cooling section with a plurality of similar or the same type of cooling cells. The cooling cells differ typically due to the temperatures which respectively prevail in a cooling cell.

Each of the cooling cells contains typically a sprinkling system or spray device to spray the containers with cooling liquid. The containers to be cooled are also, for example, sprinkled with water. In this way a heat exchange between the cooling water and the liquid filled into the containers can occur.

The cooling liquid is for example collected and namely separately for each cooling cell. Typically there is a temperature gradient from the first to the last of the plurality of cooling cells, whereby typically the first cooling cell is the hottest and the last cooling cell is the coldest cooling cell. The reservoirs/collecting basins for the cooling liquid/water of the cooling cells are for example joined together so that cooling water from one cooling cell can be pumped into an adjacent cooling cell where it can be used again optionally for sprinkling.

In a device according to an embodiment of the invention a heat pump can be provided between the cooling cell with the highest temperature of the heated coolant and the first heat exchanger. Typically this is the first cooling cell of the cooling tunnel.

In device according to an embodiment of the invention and with the use of two heat exchangers the liquid to be heated flows to the first and to the second heat exchanger. The two heat exchangers are therefore provided in series in the flash pasteuriser.

Therefore, use of a heat pump is required which can be provided separately from the cooling tunnel, separately from the filling station and the flash pasteuriser and offers the possibility of an efficient and high energy recovery within the scope of the product preheating. The use of a heat pump in parallel or series configuration with a heat exchanger facilitates a further increase in efficiency and at the same time an improvement in the performance figure of the heat pump.

FIG. 1 shows a product preheating system. The product, i.e. a liquid to be heated and to be cooled again after filling, such as a juice beverage, is passed through a product line 1, controlled by a valve 2, to a heat exchanger 3. The product flows through the heat exchanger 3. Heated coolant, such as cooling water from the cooling section 20, is used to partially heat the product. The heated cooling water from the cooling section/cooling tunnel 20 is pumped through a line 4 and a pump 5 to the heat exchanger 3.

The product is passed through a line 11 to a further heat exchanger 12, which essentially acts as a flash pasteuriser. The heat exchanger/flash pasteuriser 12 has vapour, typically steam, passing through it, which transfers its thermal energy to the product flowing through the flash pasteuriser 12. The vapour is passed to the heat exchanger/flash pasteuriser 12 with the aid of the line 13 and the vapour, now cooler after the heat exchange, is led away from the flash pasteuriser 12 through the line 14. Here, the vapour used in this process, for example steam, can be heated by conventional means.

The heating of the product in the flash pasteuriser 12 can take place up to temperatures of 80-90° C., depending on the temperature required for the product. The heated product can be transported to a filling station 15 through suitable feed lines 16, which are shown purely schematically with an arrow, but which may be located spatially separate from the flash pasteuriser 12. The filling station 15 can comprise a suitable device for the hot filling of the product, i.e. the heated liquid, in containers 25, for example bottles, as they are known in the state of the art. Within the device 15 the containers 25 are typically closed and then passed by means of a transport device 17, which again is indicated purely schematically as an arrow, to the cooling section/cooling tunnel 20.

The cooling tunnel/cooling section 20 consists of a plurality of cooling cells. In FIG. 1 six cooling cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5 and 20.6 are illustrated purely exemplarily. The filled containers 25 pass through, for example, the immediately adjacent cooling cells with the aid of a suitable transport medium, such as a conveyor belt. Here, the filled containers 25, say bottles, can be passed directly from one cooling cell to another.

The cooling cells furthermore comprise sprinkling systems 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 21.5 and 21.6, which are illustrated schematically. The said sprinkling systems are used to sprinkle the closed containers 25 to be cooled with a cooling liquid, for example water, in order to cool them. The cooling water is passed through the cooling water feed lines 25.1, 25.2, 25.3, 25.4, 25.5 and 25.6 to the sprinkling devices. Here, the coolant used can be collected by coolant basins, which are designated by the reference numerals 23.1, 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 23.5 and 23.6. From the designated coolant basins 23.1, 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 23.5 and 23.6 at least part of the cooling water can be used again with the aid of pumps 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, 22.5 and 22.6 for sprinkling. Furthermore, fresh, for example cooler coolant, say water, can also be fed in (not illustrated here). Furthermore, heated cooling water which has dissipated part of its heat in the product in the heat exchanger 3 and which subsequently has been cooled again by means of the cooling tower 7 can again be passed through a feed line 8, a conventional pump 9 and a feed line 10 to the cooling tunnel 20.

FIG. 1 illustrates exemplarily that the water cooled again with the aid of the cooling tower 7, i.e. after the cooling process in the cooling tower 7, is fed to the coldest of the cooling cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5 and 20.6, in this case the cooling cell 20.6. The coolant collection basins 23.1, 23.2, 23.3, 23.4, 23.5 and 23.6 are adjacent to one another so that at least two adjacent cooling cells can be connected by suitable lines 24.1, 24.2, 24.3, 24.4 and 24.5. In this example in the region before the heat exchanger 3 the coolant can have exemplary temperatures in the range of approximately 40-70° C. Once a part of the thermal energy has been transferred to the product, the coolant can have a slightly lower temperature of approximately 35° to 40° C., before it is passed by means of the line 6 into the cooling tower 7. After cooling, i.e. after passing through the cooling tower 7, the coolant can for example have a temperature of approximately 30° C. Here however, these temperature figures may vary and may depend on the machine length, the length of the lines and the number of the cooling cells, for example. Similarly, the throughput of the cooling tower 7 can vary between 17 m³ and 43 m³ per hour.

FIG. 2 shows a device for the hot filling of liquids/products, in particular beverage juices, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 again shows a cooling tunnel/cooling section 20, as already described in FIG. 1, so that the elements of this cooling tunnel 20 are not described again. In FIG. 2 the product, i.e. the liquid to be heated, say a beverage juice, is passed through a product line 1 to a heat exchanger/flash pasteuriser 12.

As already described in FIG. 1, after heating the liquid is passed by means of a purely schematically illustrated line 16 to a filling station 15. Here the heated liquid is filled into the container 25, for example bottles. The containers 25 are closed in the filling station after filling. The closed, hot containers 25 are passed by means of a suitable transport section 17 to the cooling tunnel/cooling section 20.

In contrast to FIG. 1, in FIG. 2 the liquid to be heated, i.e. the product, is heated in the flash pasteuriser 12 not with the aid of vapour, but with the aid of a suitable liquid, for example water, which is passed from a heat pump which has the reference numeral 30. The heat pump 30 passes a suitably heated liquid through the feed line 19a to the flash pasteuriser/heat exchanger 12, in which the heat transfer to the product takes place. After the heat transfer the now cooler liquid can be passed back through the line 19b to the heat pump 30 with the aid of a pump 18.

The heat pump 30 comprises an element 34 for the heat dissipation, an element 31 for heat absorption, and a throttle 33 and a compressor 32. Within the heat pump the circulation paths are shown by arrows 35 and 36. The temperatures on the right, cooler side of the heat pumps are designated with TC2 and TC1. Here TC1 can be say 16° C., but other temperatures are also possible depending on the machine ratings, machine length, insulation, etc. Similarly, the temperature TC2 can be say 30 to 32° C., but similarly other temperatures are also possible. For example, the temperature T1 can be say 28° C., the temperature T2 say 96° C., the temperature T3 say 28° C. and the temperature T4 say 27° C. Here, these temperature figures should be regarded as purely exemplary and similarly other temperature figures are also possible depending on the rating of the heat pump 30, its performance figure, the recovered electrical energy and other parameters according to the rating of the machines.

In FIG. 2 heated cooling liquid from the cooling section 20 is passed to the heat pump 30. Here for example, the heated cooling liquid is pumped through a feed line 4 by means of a conventional pump 5 to the heat pump 30, i.e. in particular to the element 31 of the heat pump 30, from one of the cooling cells of the cooling section 20, for example from the hottest of the cooling cells. After passing through the heat pump 30, i.e. in particular of the element 31 of the heat pump 30, the now cooler cooling liquid is passed back into the cooling section through the line 10. For this purpose a further auxiliary pump, not illustrated here, can be used. Typically the cooling liquid is passed back to the coldest of the cooling cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5 and 20.6, in this example the cooling cell with the reference numeral 20.6. The use, shown as an example, of a heat pump 30 separately from the cooling section 20, the flash pasteuriser 12 and the filling station 15, facilitates a higher degree of utilisation of the recovery of thermal energy and for lower costs the use of a heat pump 30 facilitates cooling or also heating.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment within the scope of the present invention. In turn a cooling section/cooling tunnel 20 is used, as has already been described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Here too, the same elements have the same reference numerals and are not quoted again here.

In the device according to the invention in FIG. 3 the liquid to be heated, i.e. the product, is in turn passed through the product line 1 to the device. The device comprises here two heat exchangers, which are designated with the reference numerals 60 and 62. The heat exchangers 62 and 60 are for example provided in series in the flash pasteuriser. The heat exchangers 60 and 62 are connected in series through the line with the reference numeral 61.

After being heated and passing through the heat exchanger 62, the product is passed through a suitable line system 63 to the filling station 15. The filling station 15 can be a filling station, as has been already described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. After the filling process and closure of the containers 25, in which the heated liquid has been filled, the transport of the containers 25 to the cooling tunnel 20 can be carried out using a suitable transport section 17. Similarly, the use of the heated coolant, for example cooling water from the cooling section/cooling tower 20, is provided in series. The second heat exchanger 60 is here provided in series to the heat pump 50, i.e. with regard to the heating. The heated coolant from the cooling section 20 is passed or pumped into the heat exchanger 60 through a feed line 4 and the pump 5 and by means of feed line 66. Here, the heated coolant for example is used in a first step, i.e. for direct transferable energies, to heat the product. Thus, heating of the product passed through the feed line 1 takes place already by means of the heat exchanger 60.

After heating in the heat exchanger 60, the heated product is passed to the heat exchanger 62. The cooling liquid, which has a slightly cooled temperature level through use in the heat exchanger 60, is passed from the heat exchanger 60 by means of the feed line 67 to the heat pump 50.

The heat pump 50 comprises the heat pump element 51 for heat absorption, heat pump element 54 for heat dissipation, as well as the compressor 52 and the throttle 53. The reference numerals 55 and 56 designate the direction of flow within the heat pump 50. A suitable liquid for the heat transfer is passed to the first heat exchanger 62 from the element 54 of the heat pump 50 through the feed line 64, whereby the product can be heated to the desired target temperature. After heating in the heat exchanger 62 the cooled liquid is passed through the feed line 65 back to the heat pump 50. Here it is passed into the element 54 of the heat pump 50. The cooling liquid, cooled after passing through the element 51, is passed back to the cooling tunnel 20 through the line 10. Here, as illustrated in FIG. 3 exemplarily, this cooling liquid is passed to the coldest of the cells 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5 and 20.6 of the cooling tunnel, cell 20.6.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further embodiment according to the present invention. In FIG. 4 a cooling tunnel/cooling section 70 is illustrated, which is similar to the cooling sections illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, but is however different in that groups of cooling cells of the cooling section can discharge the cooling water extracted from them to different elements. However, it would also be possible to use a cooling cell as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

The cooling section 70 comprises, as exemplarily illustrated, six cooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6. These cooling cells comprise sprinkling facilities/systems 71.1, 71.2, 71.3, 71.4, 71.5 and 71.6. These sprinkling systems 71.1, 71.2, 71.3, 71.4, 71.5 and 71.6, which are illustrated purely schematically as having two arms, receive the coolant, say water, for sprinkling through lines 75.1, 75.2, 75.3, 75.4, 75.5 and 75.6. The cooling water dripping or draining from the containers 25 after sprinkling is collected in the respective collecting containers 73.1, 73.2, 73.3, 73.4, 73.5 and 73.6, which can be open, in the respective cooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6. The collected cooling water can at least be partially used by the pumps 72.1, 72.2, 72.3, 72.4, 72.5 and 72.6 for sprinkling. Here, similarly cooler freshwater can be used from other feed-line sources—not shown here. Furthermore, cooler water, which flows back from a heat pump 80, can be passed to the cooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6, as is described in the following.

In FIG. 4 the liquid to be heated, i.e. the product, say a beverage juice, is in turn passed through the product feed line 1 to the flash pasteuriser. The device in turn comprises two heat exchangers 92 and 90. The heat exchangers 92 and 90 are for example provided in series in the flash pasteuriser. The second heat exchanger 90 is connected to the first heat exchanger 92 through a line 91. In the second heat exchanger 90 the product fed through the line 1 is at least partially heated. For further heating to the required target temperature the product is then passed to the heat exchanger 92. With regard to the heating of the product the second heat exchanger 90 is provided in parallel to a heat pump 80, as described below.

After heating to the target temperature, the product is fed to a filling station 15 through a line 93 which is drawn purely schematically. The filling station 15 corresponds to the filling stations already outlined above in connection with FIGS. 1-3. Purely schematically, the reference numeral 17 in turn indicates that the liquid filled into containers 25, whereby the containers 25 are subsequently closed, can be passed on to the cooling section/cooling tunnel 70. Here, the filling device and the cooling section can be provided spatially separate from one another. The same applies to the flash pasteuriser with the heat exchangers 90 and 92.

FIG. 4 also shows the heat pump 80, which is provided with the heat pump element 81 for heat absorption on the cooler side of the heat pump 80 and heat pump element 84 for heat dissipation on the hotter side of the heat pump 80. Between the element 81 and the element 84a compressor 82 is provided as well as a throttle 83 on the oppositely situated side. The reference numerals 85 and 86 designate the direction of flow within the inner circuit of the heat pump.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 a first cascade, for example comprising a group of three cooling cells 70.1, 70.2, 70.3, whereby any other grouping is possible, is connected to the heat exchanger 90. That is, the heated cooling liquid from this group, typically extracted from the hottest collecting basin for cooling liquid 73.1, is passed to the heat exchanger 90 through a feed line 78 and a pump 99 and a further feed line 98 to transfer energy from the first cascade to the product. Once heat transfer is complete the coolant is returned to the group through a return line 97. It should be noted that there is a connection between the elements of the group. The connection is designated with the reference numerals 74.1 and 74.2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further group, which consists exemplarily of three cooling cells 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6, whereby however other grouping is also possible. These cooling cells are similarly connected to the connecting elements 74.4 and 74.5. Here coolant is passed to the heat pump 80 from the hottest of the two cascades, consisting of the cells 70.4, 70.5 and 70.6, i.e. from the cell 70.4 and its collecting basin 73.4 through a feed line 77 and pump 89. After transfer of the heat from the coolant, which is passed through the heat pump element 81, the now cooler coolant is passed back to this cell with the reference numeral 70.6, that is the coldest of the second group. Due to the herewith provided parallel heating of the product by means of the heat exchanger 90 and the heat pump 80, efficient product heating can be achieved.

For the devices illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 the heating and cooling of the product can be controlled by a suitable computer controller, which is not illustrated here.

It is self-evident that the illustrated devices can also be analogously used for a specified cooling of products to lower temperatures.

It is self-evident that the features mentioned in the above described embodiments are not restricted particularly to the combinations illustrated in the figures, but rather are also possible in other combinations.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for hot filling of liquids using a flash pasteurizer including a first heat exchanger, a filling station and a cooling tunnel including a plurality of cooling cells, the method comprising:

filling the liquids into containers in the filling station;

cooling the filled containers in the cooling tunnel using a cooling liquid;

heating the liquids before the filling of the liquids into the containers in the filling station, wherein thermal energy from the cooling liquid that was heated during the cooling of the filled containers is fed to the flash pasteurizer using a separate heat pump.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the liquids are juices.

3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the containers are bottles.

4. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the cooling liquid is water.

5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the thermal energy fed from the heat pump to the liquids is transferred to the liquids using the first heat exchanger.

6. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the heating the liquids is completely implemented by the thermal energy fed to the liquids using the heat pump.

7. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a second heat exchanger in series with the heat pump;

passing the cooling liquid from the cooling tunnel through the second heat exchanger and then to the heat pump, the second heat exchanger heating the liquids before the filling of the liquids into the containers so as to initially transfer a part of the thermal energy of the heated cooling liquid and the heat pump transferring a further part of the thermal energy for further heating of the liquids.

8. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising:

providing a second heat exchanger in parallel with the heat pump;

passing a first part of the cooling liquid from the cooling tunnel to the second heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger heating the liquids before the filling of the liquids into the containers so as to transfer a part of the thermal energy of the heated cooling liquid; and

passing a second part of the cooling liquid from the cooling tunnel to the heat pump so as to transfer a further part of the thermal energy for further heating of the liquids.

9. The method recited in claim 8, wherein a first portion of the heated cooling liquid that passes to the second heat exchanger is hotter than a second portion of the heated cooling liquid that passes to the heat pump.

10. A device for hot filling of liquids, the device comprising:

a flash pasteurizer including a first heat exchanger;

a filling station configured to fill containers with liquids;

a cooling tunnel including a plurality of cooling cells for cooling the filled containers; and

a separate heat pump for feeding thermal energy from the cooling liquid heated in the cooling tunnel to the liquids before the filling of the liquids into the containers.

11. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the flash pasteurizer, the filling station and the cooling tunnel are separate.

12. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the first heat exchanger includes one of a plate heat exchanger and a shell-and-tube heat exchanger.

13. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the heat pump includes one of a compression heat pump, an ammonia heat pump or a heat pump with a transcritical CO2 process.

14. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the heat pump is disposed between a first of the plurality of cooling cells and the first heat exchanger.

15. The device recited in claim 14, wherein the first of the plurality of cooling cells has a highest temperature of the heated cooling liquid.

16. The device recited in claim 10, wherein the plurality of cooling cells are connected so as to provide pumping of cooling liquid from one cooling cell to at least one of a neighboring cooling cell.

17. The device recited in claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of cooling cells includes a sprinkling system for spraying the containers with cooling liquid.

18. The device recited in claim 10, further comprising a second heat exchanger in series with the heat pump, the second heat exchanger configured to receive the cooling liquid from the cooling tunnel and transfer thermal energy from the cooling liquid to the liquids before filling the liquids into the containers.

19. The device recited in claim 10, further comprising a second heat exchanger in parallel with the heat pump, the second heat exchanger configured to receive a part of the cooling liquid from the cooling tunnel and transfer thermal energy from the cooling liquid to the liquids before filling the liquids into the containers.