Low-energy beverage processing line introduced by Tetra Pak

Tetra Pak has launched a low-energy processing line for juice, nectar and still drinks (JNSD) to improve the efficiency of beverage processing. It uses a combination of pasteurisation, filtration and UV light technology to treat beverages in two separate streams, which are aseptically blended together into the final beverage.

Instead of pasteurising the whole volume of the product, the new production line separates out water and pasteurises only the concentrate. Water is treated separately with filtration and UV light, which requires less energy. Users of the JNSD processing line can reduce energy consumption by up to 67% and water consumption used for cleaning-in-place and sterilisation, and product changeover can be cut by up to 50%.

Maria Norlin, Subcategory Manager JNSD & Other Beverages, Tetra Pak, said: “Our decision to split the existing JNSD line into two separate processing streams for treatment allows us to offer our customers processing options that can help them achieve their climate goals and enables the industry to contribute towards global sustainability efforts.”

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Tetra Pak food and drink scientists and processing engineers set ambitious goals for rethinking and redesigning the JNSD processing line. In 2019 a white paper was released outlining the production concept, which was presented at the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association Technical Workshop in March 2019.

In October 2019 at the Juice Summit, the presentation of the new production concept was recognised with the IFU 2019 Innovation Award.​

“After many years of low growth, we see new opportunities for our customers on the horizon, as people increasingly search for ways to lead a healthier lifestyle, and this trend has accelerated during the spread of COVID-19. We hope this new production line can help customers capture the growth opportunities in a more cost-efficient way,” Norlin concluded.

Images supplied by Tetra Pak.