Tube-in-Tube Sterilizer
Technical Parameters
- High-concentration products: 1–10 t/h, customizable
- Products with particles: 1–5 t/h, depending on product and particle content
- Particle size: ≤10 mm
- Solid content: ≤70%
- Inlet temperature: ≥25℃
- Sterilization temperature: ≤120℃
- Sterilization time: 90–180 s, adjusted according to the product
- Outlet temperature: ≤35℃
- Breakage rate: 3–5% (based on oats and popping boba as example)
Tube-in-tube sterilizers are designed for continuous UHT treatment of thick products and liquids with particles, such as fruit purées, concentrated juice, jam, honey, syrup, nata de coco, fruit pieces, tapioca pearls, and popping boba. The product flows through a separate tube passage while steam, hot water, cooling water, or recovered condensate transfers heat through the tube wall without direct contact. The curved, counter-current flow path gives viscous products and solid pieces more room to move and helps them heat more evenly, while PLC control keeps the temperature within the required range before the product passes through holding and cooling.
Process Flow
- Indirect Heating: The product enters the tube-in-tube heat exchanger, while steam or hot water transfers heat through the tube wall without direct contact.
- Holding and Sterilization: Once the required sterilization temperature is reached, it passes through the holding section for the set time.
- Cooling: The sterilized liquid then moves into the cooling section, where circulating cooling water lowers the temperature quickly.
- Heat Recovery: Part of the heat from the hot product and steam condensate can be recovered and reused during the process.
Applications
- High-concentration products: fruit and vegetable pulp, concentrated plant extracts, concentrated juice, jam, fruit purée, honey, syrup, and similar products.
- Products with particles: orange pulp, nata de coco, tapioca pearls, fruit pieces, fruit pulp, crystal balls, popping boba, and similar products with particle sizes up to 10 mm and insoluble solids content up to 70%.
Features
- Tube-in-tube sterilizers’ main frame is made from SUS304 stainless steel, while the pipes that come into contact with the product use mirror-polished SUS316L seamless tubing, to ensure corrosion resistance and easy cleaning.
- Valve cores and flange seals are made from white PTFE, which resists high temperatures and acidic or alkaline conditions.
- Equipped with a separate SIP (Sterilization in Place) water tank and a heat-recovery section for hot and cold product streams.
- Seamless stainless-steel tubes are used throughout the heat exchanger. Each tube undergoes a 120-minute pressure test at 20-bar or higher, and every high-pressure aseptic divert valve has a high-temperature steam barrier for added protection during sterilization.
- The product channel inside the tube-in-tube exchanger has a specially shaped flow path that reduces damage to particles and keeps heat transfer even.
- The fully automatic CIP (Cleaning in Place) system circulates the cleaning solution through the pipes at a flow speed above 1.5 m/s.
