Home page

A DUE is a leading company in syrup rooms and complete plants design and manufacturing for soft drinks and still drinks production.
During Drinktec in Munich (Hall A6 Stand n° 300), A DUE shows its Pasteurizing groups PASTEURIZER / STERILIZER suitable for final syrup, finished drink, fruit juice.

During 40-year presence on the business, A DUE manufactured and started up over than 250 plants, having variable production capacities between 1.000 l/h and 60.000 l/h.

A DUE pasteurizers are suitable to treat any type of drink, like CSD, syrups, still drinks, juices and nectars, beer, milk, alcoholic drinks, products containing pulps and high viscosity products.
Thanks to a modular design of its own systems, A DUE assures the integrability, in any moment, of auxiliary systems like vacuum de-aerators with aromas recovery, homogenizers, product recovery / re-dosing tanks, aseptic tanks, integrated CIP.

A DUE production plants can satisfy all technological packaging needs: cold, hot, ultra clean and aseptic packaging.
In particular, the aseptic packaging technology consists of the continuous sterilisation of the product, followed by the cold packaging in sterile containers.
This technology is currently used on a large scale for milk, fruit juices, ready soups and tomato pulp.

The process phases include the sterilisation of the plant, the continuous heat treatment of the product, its immediate cooling, the transport through pumps and piping (which must be completely aseptic) to the packaging machine, the feeding of the sterile product and the sterile packaging in an aseptic zone, and the airtight closing.
The products which undergo this treatment have higher organoleptic and nutritional characteristics than the ones sterilised in the traditional way.
For a correct design of the aseptic sterilizer, first of all it is necessary to carefully characterise the product to be subjected to the treatment from a microbiological standpoint: determining the parameters CFU: bacteria count, F: lethality, z: decimal reduction index, etc. and from a chemical-physical standpoint: determining the parameters ph: acidity, WA: water activity, n: flow index, K: consistency index.

Depending on the microbiological and chemical-physical characteristics of each product, the study of the heat holding (the time and temperature at which the heat treatment must be carried out in order to guarantee the aseptic nature of the product without, however, altering its organoleptic properties) is carried out.
Particular attention must be paid to the study and design of the working cycle in order to guarantee logical and safe sequences, to the aseptic drawing, to the study and setup of the protection systems (the construction of aseptic barriers interfacing with the other parts of the plant, even if there is a production change) and to the study of the safety instruments.

The monitoring in real time of the plant operation must be guaranteed, too: pressures, temperatures, flow rates, flow opening and closing.
A DUE designs and manufactures aseptic pasteurisation groups with tubular or plate heat exchangers.
The tubular pasteuriser is suitable for the treatment of viscous products, containing pieces, pulps and fibres. The configurations can be single-pipe, multipipe or annular space. The heat exchanger can be corrugated, rough or smooth.

In the tubular pasteuriser the product coming from the mixing tank is collected in the balancing tank and then it is fed to the heat exchange modules, according to the following phases: preheating with heat recovery; deaeration; heating with heat recovery; sterilisation by means of overheated water; heat holding; cooling with heat recovery; cooling by means of cold water.
The phases called “heat recovery” are carried out by means of an indirect exchanger with water which circulates countercurrent in the various sections.
The sterilisation section is carried out thanks to the overheated water produced by means of an auxiliary group with a “steam/water” heat exchanger.
After being sterilised and cooled down, the product is sent to the filler, whereas, if the product supply has to be stopped or in other particular cycle cases, a shunt valve recycles the product to the balancing tank.
The production, washing, emptying and sterilisation are completely automatic. The plate heat exchanger is suitable for the treatment of clear carbonated and/or non carbonated drinks.

It is made up of metal plates placed one on top of the other, on which the liquid to be treated flows on one side and a fluid reheated at the requested temperature flows on the other side. The two fluids are made to flow in opposite directions and in thin layers in order to make the heat exchange more efficient and make sure that all the food liquid reaches the desired temperature. The treatment time corresponds to the period of time that is necessary for the product to cross the pasteurisation cell. In this phase no other heat exchange occurs with the heating fluid. The technological evolution makes it possible to adjust precisely the temperature and exposure times in order to have treatments at higher temperatures for limited times. The plates can be standard, wide passage or free flow.