Maximizing liquid bottling efficiency

Australian company Rheology Solutions has found a way of enhancing the bottling of 'stringy' and difficult to handle liquids, leading to a cleaner more efficient and cost-effective packaging process.

For the cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries, the pumping, mixing and processing of fluid streams and then filling the final product is often a messy process as it is very common problem when filling bottles with liquids that are of an unpredictable viscosity there is often spillage so before labeling and final packaging, the bottles often have to be cleaned, lengthening the packaging process and causing, often unnecessary costs associated with both waste and the cleaning. This unpredictability of viscosity can also lead to significant losses of product.

A liquid's viscosity is the degree to which the liquid resists flow under an applied force and the secret behind regulating the flow of liquids in packaging is to accurately gauge the liquid's viscosity. An accurate estimate of this can allow processing and packaging to be adapted to minimize waste. Very often this can be accomplished by adapting the filling speed to suit the bottling application.

These properties can be quickly, scientifically and reproducibly measured for the first time using Rheology Solutions Thermo Electron Haake CaBER1 Capillary Break-up Extensional Rheometer.

The Extensional Rheometer can provide information on the apparent or relative extensional viscosity, as well as directly measuring the time to break-up of liquid strands. Using this knowledge, the surface tension of the liquid and actual extensional viscosity can be computed to be factored into the filling process.

A Rheology Solutions spokesperson said. "The stringy behavior of these fluids is related to a flow property known as extensional viscosity. Products with high extensional viscosity will tend to form threads or strings when poured, chewed or otherwise stretched. Although extensional viscosity may be related partly to viscoelastic properties, it can only be properly measured in extension, not by the traditional techniques of shear or dynamic rheometry."