At Climator, phase change materials (PCM) are filled into various-sized tubular bags.
Used in thermal energy and cold storage, PCMs lend themselves to specific cooling and warming conditions. In the case of cooling with frozen packaging, there is a risk that the cooling period will not be sufficient.
However, by using PCM as a cooling agent, a longer cooling period can be achieved. The melting point is chosen so that an optimal cooling period can be maintained, not only temporarily, but throughout the whole supply chain.
In addition to being used during transportation, ClimSel can be applied in energy storage in buildings, temperature control in garments and temperature stabilisation in electronic components.
Not only is there a wide range of fill weights spanning from 30ml to 1.000ml, it imposes high-demands on the filling, but also the high abrasiveness of the salt crystals in the media. To meet those requirements, the filling pump 2RD40 Pharma from ViscoTec was chosen, which uses the progressive cavity pump principle.
The progressive cavity pump is particularly suitable for conveying and filling abrasive and solid-containing media. Abrasive solids are transferred in a product and pumped gently way in the carrier medium, through the chambers between the rotor (stainless steel) and stator (elastomer). The friction coefficient between rotor/stator combinations is reduced trough the tribological film of a few µm and so premature wear is avoided.
As progressive cavity pumps are dosing pulsation-free and under low pressures, concentrations of the filler are avoided. The progressive cavity technology also operates without metal-to-metal contact between the rotating parts.
The dosing geometry allows for a constant volume-per-turn proportional to the angle of rotation, resulting in a uniform product flow. This prevents premature sedimentation of fillers.
The volume is clearly defined by the angular degree and no backflow or undercuts (uniform distribution of the solids) are existing. This technique results in a pressure-constant, linear pump performance curve.
A clear statement can be made about the relationship between revolution, time, and delivery. A wide range of different volumes can be filled using only one pump, with safe processing and repeat accuracy.
All these advantages are adopted by manufacturers of tubular bag filling machines such as the company Hastamat located near Frankfurt, which relies on the reliable and precise technology of ViscoTec.
A typical configuration is the assembly of a progressive cavity pump mounted on top of the machine, which is filled via a container. The filling nozzle at the end of the pump is directly mounted in the forming tube of the tubular bag filling machine. After filling, the filling nozzle is closed with a plunger to prevent dripping of the product. In this way, a clean seam for the sealing of the bag is ensured.