Automatic Glass Bottle Filling Line

Counter-pressure (isobaric) filling equalises the pressure inside the bottle with the pressure in the filling tank before the product flows, using CO₂. Because the pressure difference is removed, the CO₂ already dissolved in the product stays in solution instead of escaping as foam. Without it, filling carbonated beer or kombucha at atmospheric pressure causes foaming, carbonation loss and inconsistent fill heights.

The line fills short-tube isobaric at a CO₂ pressure of 0.15–0.4 MPa, with a filling temperature of 0–4 °C and CO₂ content up to 3–4 g/L. Filling cold is essential for carbonated products: it keeps CO₂ in solution and reduces foaming at the filler. These three parameters together determine whether carbonation survives the fill.

Oxygen is removed by vacuum and CO₂ displacement before filling, and the whole operation runs at 0–4 °C, which limits the oxygen that can be picked up. Short-tube isobaric filling plus a mechanical level-control valve with a vent pipe keeps the fill controlled without agitation. In practice this configuration keeps pickup at the filler in the 20–40 ppb range, which holds total packaged oxygen in bottled beer below 50 ppb. Industry practice is to measure at the filler head under normal production conditions.

Yes. The line is used for craft beer, lager, sparkling water, soda drinks, kombucha, cider and juice beverages in glass bottles. Kombucha and other live or delicate products benefit most from the low-oxygen design, because dissolved oxygen affects flavour stability and shelf life. Carbonation level and filling temperature are set per product.

The standard format window is 250–1,000 ml, covering bottles 50–90 mm in diameter and 150–330 mm tall. The line is built around changeable format parts, and a rotary empty-bottle platform stabilises infeed so bottles enter the filler aligned. Send your bottle drawing and target output and we will confirm the configuration.

As a planning figure, a bottle format change on this line takes 30–60 minutes with two operators, and 1–2 hours when the neck finish and cap format change as well. Changeover involves changing format parts on the infeed, filler, capper and labeller, then resetting guides. It is a design decision rather than a fixed figure — tell us your SKU mix and changeover frequency and we will optimise the line for it.

The line is designed for CIP cleaning with automatic cleaning of the product path, which reduces manual labour and helps hold hygiene standards between runs. Cleaning frequency is usually set by product changes and by your hygiene plan rather than by the machine alone — a product or format change normally triggers a clean, while continuous runs of the same product clean on a time-based schedule. A typical cycle runs 60–90 minutes — pre-rinse, 1–2.5% caustic at 70–80 °C circulated for 30–60 minutes, intermediate rinse, then a final rinse or sanitiser — with one clean every 24 hours of running as the usual baseline.

As a planning figure for a line of this class — around 2,000–6,000 BPH — allow roughly 25–35 m of line length with a 5–6 m working aisle, plus space for empty-bottle pallets at the infeed and packed product at the discharge. For this line we typically ask for 0.45 m³/h compressed air at 0.8 MPa, 1.2 m³/h sterile air at 0.4 MPa and vacuum at 180 g/hl (0.6 MPa), with a conveyor height of 1150–1300 mm. Installed power is typically 25–40 kW, with steam at 200–400 kg/h and 0.4–0.6 MPa where a spray sterilisation tunnel is included, and 2–4 m³ of process water per CIP cycle. We issue a full utility schedule so your facility team can prepare connections in advance.