Sterile carbonated beverage filling system and sterile carbonated beverage filling method

Abstract

A sterile carbonated beverage filling system includes a beverage sterilizing section which sterilizes a raw material liquid to prepare a sterilized beverage, a beverage cooling section which cools the sterilized beverage, a carbonated beverage producing section which injects carbonic acid gas into the sterilized beverage to prepare a sterile carbonated beverage, and a carbonated beverage filling section which fills the sterile carbonated beverage into a bottle. The beverage sterilizing section, the beverage cooling section, the carbonated beverage producing section, and the carbonated beverage filling section are connected by a beverage supply pipeline. The carbonated beverage filling section and the beverage supply pipeline each include a rotary machine, and a boundary surface between a rotating body and a non-rotating body of the rotary machine is sealed with sterile water or sterile air.

1 . A sterile carbonated beverage filling system, comprising:
 a beverage sterilizing section which sterilizes a raw material liquid to prepare a sterilized beverage;   a beverage cooling section which cools the sterilized beverage prepared by the beverage sterilizing section;   a carbonated beverage producing section which injects carbonic acid gas into the sterilized beverage cooled by the beverage cooling section to prepare a sterile carbonated beverage;   a carbonated beverage filling section which fills the sterile carbonated beverage, prepared by the carbonated beverage producing section, into a bottle; and   a beverage supply pipeline which connects the beverage sterilizing section, the beverage cooling section, the carbonated beverage producing section, and the carbonated beverage filling section,   wherein the carbonated beverage filling section comprises a rotary joint having a rotating pipe as a rotating body and a fixed pipe as a non-rotating body,   the sterile carbonated beverage is flowed from the fixed pipe to the rotating pipe,   a boundary surface between the rotating pipe and the fixed pipe is sealed with sterile air at a temperature of 1° C. or more and 40° C. or less, so as to reduce a rising in a temperature of the sterile carbonated beverage staying in the rotating pipe and the fixed pipe,   a sterilizing gas supply section and a sterile air supply section are both connected to a single supply pipe that is connected to the rotary joint, and   the sterile air supply section supplies the sterile air toward the rotary joint through the single supply pipe, after the single supply pipe is sterilized by a hydrogen peroxide gas from the sterilizing gas supply section.   
     
     
         2 . The sterile carbonated beverage filling system according to  claim 1 , wherein an internal pressure of a seal portion which seals the boundary surface is lower than an internal pressure of a pipe through which the sterile carbonated beverage located inside the rotary joint flows. 
     
     
         3 . A sterile carbonated beverage filling method, comprising:
 a sterilization step of sterilizing a raw material liquid in a beverage sterilizing section to prepare a sterilized beverage;   a cooling step of cooling the sterilized beverage, prepared by the beverage sterilizing section, in a beverage cooling section;   a carbonated beverage producing step of injecting carbonic acid gas into the sterilized beverage, cooled by the beverage cooling section, in a carbonated beverage producing section to prepare a sterile carbonated beverage; and   a filling step of filling the sterile carbonated beverage, prepared by the carbonated beverage producing section, into a bottle in a carbonated beverage filling section,   wherein the beverage sterilizing section, the beverage cooling section, the carbonated beverage producing section, and the carbonated beverage filling section are connected by a beverage supply pipeline,   the carbonated beverage filling section comprises a rotary joint having a rotating pipe as a rotating body and a fixed pipe as a non-rotating body,   the sterile carbonated beverage is flowed from the fixed pipe to the rotating pipe,   a boundary surface between the rotating pipe and the fixed pipe is sealed with sterile air at a temperature of 1° C. or more and 40° C. or less, so as to reduce a rising in a temperature of the sterile carbonated beverage staying in the rotating pipe and the fixed pipe,   a sterilizing gas supply section and a sterile air supply section are both connected to a single supply pipe that is connected to the rotary joint, and   the sterile air supply section supplies the sterile air toward the rotary joint through the single supply pipe, after the single supply pipe is sterilized by a hydrogen peroxide gas from the sterilizing gas supply section.