Maintaining a constant temperature is not the same as pasteurization. A case for planemos’ real-time PU Control.
Why the setpoint in the tunnel says nothing about your product safety. Why every second of delay affects the taste. And why you don’t need a new system for this—just good temperature control software.
Pasteur doesn’t regulate degrees; he regulates effects.
The unit of measurement that matters in bottling is not °C, but the pasteurization unit (PU): One PU corresponds to one minute at 60 °C. Because the effect increases exponentially rather than linearly with temperature, every half degree and every additional second in the tunnel alters the result.
On the low end, this poses a microbiological risk. On the high end, it’s a quality issue: a cooked taste, color shift, and unnecessary energy waste. Between these two extremes lies the target range your product needs—and this range varies depending on the variety, container, and fill volume. The interplay between temperature control, flavor changes, and shelf life therefore cannot be managed with a single setpoint. It must be controlled flexibly and with quick response.
If you adjust it manually, you’ll do it too late!
Under normal operating conditions, none of this is a problem. Problems arise at the trouble spots, which every bottling plant is familiar with:
Belt stop while filling is in progress:
The bottles are in the hot section and continue to accumulate PU.
A slow start after the break:
The tunnel hasn’t reached the right temperature yet; the first batch is passing through the window.
Variety change:
Switching from a 0.33-liter can to a 0.5-liter bottle completely changes the heat absorption.
Summer hours:
Higher inlet temperature, same setpoints, different result.
By the time an operator notices, assesses, and corrects the issue, the affected containers have long since passed through the line. That is precisely why response speed here is not just a “nice-to-have,” but the very core of the task. The planemos Pasteurization Unit Control (PU Control) calculates and adjusts in cycles of about 20 milliseconds—faster than it takes for the conveyor stop to even be noticed in the control room.
“What used to require manual adjustment based on extensive experience is now 100 percent automated.”
Peter StinglProject Manager, planemos GmbH
No new machine, just new software: the benefits of the new planemos Pasteurization Unit Control.
You don’t need new machines for PU Control. planemos PU Control builds on what you’re already using.
Configure sections individually
A tunnel is not a single block, but a chain of zones. Each section can be configured individually, rather than running the entire Pasteur system using a compromise value.
Molds and formulations without changing the program
You can enter bottle and can shapes yourself at any time, and manage and edit formulas in a separate application. No one needs to access the main program to do this—operations remain unaffected, even if a new container shape is added on short notice.
Traceability in the database, not in the folder
The Pasteur’s measurement data is recorded in real time and saved in the database tables, where it is stored long-term and archived. This allows for the evaluation of both the entire batch and the individual bottle.
The difference becomes apparent during the audit. In the event of a complaint or an IFS audit, the question isn’t whether the tunnel was set up correctly in principle, but what happened to *that* container. Anyone who can answer that based on the database is having a conversation about data. Anyone who has to reconstruct it from shift notes is having a different conversation.
Quick and flexible integration in 4 steps:
What the planemos PU Control does during operation.
The focus is on fully automated, real-time control of the PU value across all sections, mold and recipe management, as well as batch traceability down to the individual container. And thanks to the wide range of configuration options, the system can ideally be integrated with an MES or ERP system, ensuring that planning for the entire plant does not end at the pasteurizer.
“The best software is the one that saves our customers money. And I mean that literally: A more tightly controlled PU window means less rework, less waste, and no heat wasted in the tunnel. ”
Thomas BuxCEO of planemos MES
