Fruit Juice Processing: Gentle Extraction & Concentration

Processing premium Not-From-Concentrate (NFC) and concentrated fruit juices requires exact thermal profiling to deactivate browning enzymes like polyphenol oxidase (PPO) while protecting heat-labile ascorbic acid and natural volatile aroma top-notes. Lecoqimex delivers engineered solutions comprising SonFlow Free-Flow plate heat exchangers engineered for pulpy fluids, vacuum deaerators, energy-efficient falling film evaporators, and DanPumps S-FP sanitary centrifugal pumps.

Natural Color Preservation, Vitamin Retention & Pulp Integrity

Rapid PPO enzymatic deactivation at 92°C - 95°C in 15-30 seconds preventing enzymatic browning
SonFlow Free-Flow plate design with no metal-to-metal contact points, eliminating fiber blockages
Up to 95% thermal regeneration in juice flash pasteurization cutting plant steam expenses
Gentle DanPumps S-FP transfer preserving suspended citrus vesicles and delicate fruit pulp

In processing citrus, passion fruit, apple, or mango juices, suspended pulp fibers and intact fruit cells create severe challenges for standard plate heat exchangers. Conventional narrow channels choke on pulp fibers, causing sudden pressure spikes and localized burning that degrades flavor and color. SonFlow Free-Flow plate architecture provides constant open channels without restricting cross-points, permitting high-fiber streams to flow unhindered while sustaining high heat transfer efficiency.

1. Thermodynamic & Enzymatic Challenges in Fruit Juice Production

Fruit juices represent rich nutritional matrices of natural carbohydrates, organic acids, and antioxidants, yet they remain exceptionally delicate under thermal load and oxygen exposure.

Achieving international Not-From-Concentrate (NFC) standards requires balancing two conflicting requirements: applying sufficient thermal energy to destroy yeasts, molds, and cloud-destabilizing enzymes, while preventing thermal breakdown of vivid carotenoid and anthocyanin pigments. Lecoqimex delivers SonFlow thermal systems delivering sub-second accuracy across flash heating and cooling cycles.

1. Thermodynamic & Enzymatic Challenges in Fruit Juice Production — Fig 1.1: Automated industrial fruit juice extraction and aseptic pasteurization processing line.

2. The Core Fruit Juice Processing Sequence

High-grade commercial fruit juice processing operates through two linked aseptic sequences:

Stage 01

Intake, Extraction & Vacuum Deaeration

01. Washing & Sorting: Flume bubble washing, ozone sanitization, and optical defect sorting.
02. Gentle Extraction: Belt press or pneumatic membrane pressing minimizing peel oil bitterness.
03. Centrifugal Sieving: Rotary finishers screening out seeds and oversize pulp solids.
04. Vacuum Deaeration: Flash stripping dissolved oxygen at -0.8 bar to arrest oxidation.
05. Aroma Condensation: Capturing volatile essence vapors to re-dose into finished juice.
06. Regenerative Preheating: Harvesting enthalpy from pasteurized product streams.

Stage 02

Flash Pasteurization, Concentration & Aseptic Filling

07. Flash HTST Pasteurization: Heating at 92°C - 95°C for 15-30s achieving commercial sterility.
08. Rapid Chill Down: Cooling to 4°C for chilled NFC juice or routing to evaporation skids.
09. Falling Film Evaporation: Low-temperature vacuum boiling at 55°C yielding 65-70° Brix.
10. Aseptic Surge Buffer: Storing product under positive nitrogen gas overpressure.
11. Aseptic Packaging: Filling into Bag-in-Box or sterile bottle formats for cold-chain distribution.
12. Automated CIP Cycles: Caustic/acid circulation eliminating organic pulp residues.

2. The Core Fruit Juice Processing Sequence — Fig 2.1: SonFlow flash pasteurization skid integrated with centrifugal vacuum deaeration vessel.

3. SonFlow Free-Flow Plates: Clog-Free Pulp Handling

Suspended fruit pulp and citrus vesicles represent primary fouling vectors in beverage thermal equipment. SonFlow Free-Flow plates provide the definitive mechanical solution:

01 / Unobstructed Flow Passages

Wide-gap spacing up to 12 mm with zero inter-plate touchpoints allows pulp strands and whole citrus vesicles to transit without mechanical entrapment.

02 / Self-Cleaning Turbulence Profiles

Corrugated waveforms promote turbulent boundary-layer scrubbing, mitigating thermal burnt-film formation and enabling complete CIP cleanability in minutes.

3. SonFlow Free-Flow Plates: Clog-Free Pulp Handling — Fig 3.1: SonFlow Free-Flow plate heat exchanger engineered for pulpy juices and high-fiber beverages.

4. DanPumps S-FP Sanitary Pumping for Juices & Concentrates

Pumping raw fruit juices and high-Brix concentrates requires robust resistance against acidic corrosion and wide viscosity shifts:

Investment-cast AISI 316L stainless steel provides superior resistance against aggressive organic fruit acids.
Semi-open impellers ensure ultra-gentle displacement, maintaining intact citrus vesicle geometry.
Flushed double mechanical seals prevent syrup crystallization and seal face locking during continuous operation.

4. DanPumps S-FP Sanitary Pumping for Juices & Concentrates — Fig 4.1: DanPumps S-FP sanitary centrifugal pump assembly with integrated sanitary backpressure control.

Core Brewery Equipment & OEM Systems

SonFlow SF201 Free Flow Plate Heat Exchanger

Wide-gap SonFlow Free Flow non-contact plate heat exchanger handling pulp-laden juices and viscous tomato concentrates with zero clogging.

DanPumps S-ENP End Suction Heavy Process Pump

Heavy-duty DanPumps S-ENP end-suction process pump featuring robust open impellers for viscous fruit purees and tomato pulp handling.

SonFlow SF50 Gasketed Evaporation Condenser

SonFlow condenser plate heat exchanger capturing low-pressure latent vapour from falling-film juice evaporators to reheat utility loops.

ABEL CM Compact Diaphragm Slurry Pump

Compact ABEL CM mechanical diaphragm pump transferring abrasive tomato seeds, skins, and fruit pomace slurries into dewatering presses.

Questions and answers about beer production solutions & equipment

How is enzyme deactivation achieved without developing undesirable cooked off-flavors?

The SonFlow flash pasteurizer operates with a very tight logarithmic mean temperature difference (LMTD) using low-pressure steam. Juice heats rapidly to 92°C - 95°C across turbulent thin-film plate channels, resides in a precision holding tube for 15 to 30 seconds, and immediately shock-cools in the regenerative section. This minimal thermal stress completely deactivates PPO and pectin methylesterase without triggering Maillard degradation or scorching ascorbic acid.

How does SonFlow Free-Flow plate technology resolve fiber and vesicle clogging?

Unlike standard plates where intersecting corrugated contact points trap fibers, SonFlow Free-Flow plates feature deeply contoured undulating corrugations providing an unobstructed 6 to 12 mm inter-plate channel with zero metal-to-metal contact in the product path. Suspended fibers and pulp cells flow continuously within turbulent streams without accumulation, extending continuous production run times up to fourfold between CIP wash cycles.

Why is vacuum deaeration essential prior to juice thermal pasteurization?

Mechanical extraction incorporates significant volumes of dissolved atmospheric oxygen and microbubbles. Heating juice in the presence of oxygen triggers rapid ascorbic acid oxidation, brown pigment generation, and off-flavor synthesis. Lecoqimex centrifugal vacuum deaerators disperse the incoming juice into thin umbrella films under negative pressure, stripping dissolved oxygen while an integrated aroma condenser re-captures 100% of volatile essence fractions.

How does the DanPumps S-FP pump handle high-viscosity concentrated juices up to 65-70 Brix?

Fruit concentrates at 65-70° Brix exhibit elevated dynamic viscosity and a propensity for sugar syrup crystallization on seal faces. DanPumps S-FP units configured for concentrate duties integrate high-torque drive assemblies and flushed double mechanical seal arrangements. Continuous sterile water flushing dissolves syrup residues, eliminating sugar crystallization, thermal seal burn, and mechanical lock-up.

Technical Brochures, Manuals & Certificates

Brochures & Datasheets

Lecoqimex Fruit Juice Processing Engineering Guide 2026

2026-10-27 • 18.2 MB

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