Apparatus and method of cleaning gas in blow moulding machines

摘要

An apparatus and method are described for cleaning gas in blow moulding machines for shaping plastics material pre-forms to form plastics material containers. The apparatus includes at least one gas-processing device, which is capable of filtering the gas in a sterile manner and/or of reducing a quantity of an oxidative disinfecting/sterilizing agent contained in the gas flowing through and/or flowing past, is arranged in at least one gas line which is a gas supply line or a gas removal line of a blowing station.

主权项

1. A method of cleaning and/or sterilizing gas in blow moulding machine having a blowing station, said blow moulding machine comprising a compressed gas supply system for shaping plastics material pre-forms to form plastics material containers, wherein compressed gas supplied via an annular-shaped distribution duct from a plurality of separate gas reservoirs at the same or different gas pressures is conveyed through at least one gas-processing device which sterilizes the compressed gas using a sterile filter having a pore size of less than 50 μm and optionally reduces residual quantities of oxidative disinfecting/sterilizing agent in the compressed gas by reaction with a catalyst, wherein the sterile filter is arranged in a line system of the blow moulding machine and is cleaned by the oxidative disinfecting/sterilizing agent which is also used for the disinfection/sterilization of the plastics material pre-forms and/or the plastics material containers, wherein the compressed gas is introduced first through the sterile filter, then through the annular-shaped distribution duct and then to the blowing station, and, employing said compressed gas to blow plastics material pre-forms to plastics material containers, and wherein the sterile filter is a central sterile filter and is situated in a position downstream of a feed of the oxidative disinfecting/sterilizing agent but upstream of the annular-shaped distribution duct.