Sustainable by design: the JBT Hydromatic Hydrostatic Sterilizer

Looking to make energy savings and become more sustainable? JBT’s Hydromatic Hydrostatic Sterilizer has a proven track record of enabling customers to make energy savings – and achieve greater sustainability in the process – by reusing steam multiple times for efficient, continuous sterilization.

The Hydromatic Hydrostatic Sterilizer provides continuous processing for a wide range of products and containers, from metal cans and glass bottles to rigid and semi-rigid plastic pouches and trays. In particular, the system is ideal for highly dense foods that require little or no agitation and long process times, such as condensed soups, moist pet food, long-life dairy and soy drinks, and vegetables.

But in addition to its flexibility, the Hydrostatic Sterilizer has one other great advantage: its ability to reuse heat energy from steam multiple times, leading to substantial energy savings.

Worldwide, an increasing amount of regulations are either coming into force or are in the process of being drafted, which will require many JBT customers to start reporting on their environmental impact, including their CO2 footprint, explains Albert-Frans Brouwer, JBT’s Global Product Line Director for Hydrostatic Sterilization.

“It’s important for our customers to be aware of this trend. In fact, we are starting to see many of them looking to invest in eco-friendly systems,” he says. “On top of that we have the situation where utilities are getting more and more expensive, so if you have a sustainable solution it can be financially very attractive. You can save money on utilities while at the same time having the confidence that you are minimizing the environmental impact.”

Reusing energy

It may have been around for over 40 years, but still the Hydrostatic Sterilizer provides significant sustainability advantages, given that efficiency is built into its design.

“We add steam to the system for sterilization, but also reuse that same energy to preheat fresh incoming products multiple times to make it as efficient as possible,” says Brouwer.

“As a continuous system, the sterilization process conditions are established for a longer period of time, with the Hydrostatic Sterilizer capable of running for multiple days or weeks in a row. In an alternative Batch Retort system, you have to heat up and cool down your entire system for each cycle with limited ability to reuse this energy.”

On top of this, Brouwer adds that JBT is continuing to invest in R&D projects to further increase the efficiency and flexibility aspects of the system.

JBT is the biggest supplier of continuous sterilization solutions worldwide, including Hydro and Rotary Pressure Sterilizers. JBT solutions have a proven track record, with many systems able to boast 25-30 years of continuous operation.