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I. Characteristics of carbonated drinks:

In recent years, China's beverage industry has developed rapidly, among which carbonated drinks have always occupied a larger share in the market.

The foaming and stimulating taste of carbonated drinks comes from CO2, and the amount of CO2 used in drinks depends on the specific taste and brand requirements of the product. The process of carbonation can be accelerated by cooling and pressurizing more CO2 to dissolve. When drinking, as the temperature increases, the pressure decreases, so that CO2 from the beverage overflow, stimulate and take away the heat of the human body, so it gives the drinker a cool feeling. CO2 improves flavor, contributes to an acidic food storage environment, produces a pungent taste and gives fizzy drinks their characteristic bubbling appearance.

The addition of carbon dioxide, first of all, It is to adjust the flavor of the drink, in the drink carbonic acid plays a role in adjusting pH value, so that the flavor of various raw materials in the drink is more coordinated; Secondly, carbonic acid can play an anticorrosive role, carbonic acid can reduce the pH value, in addition to acid-resistant bacteria, other microorganisms are difficult to reproduce and survive; The presence of CO2 makes the container anoxic, and many aerobic bacteria cannot survive. CO2 causes certain pressure in the container, which can also destroy the growth environment of microorganisms. These characteristics can make the beverage containing soda and sparkling wine have better anticorrosive ability, thus prolonging the shelf life. Therefore, The CO2 content of carbonated drinks is an important characteristic quality index.

Ⅱ. The principle of carbon dioxide dissolution

The dissolution of carbon dioxide in liquid is mainly determined by the following factors:

(1) Absolute pressure of gas-liquid system;

(2)Temperature of liquid;

(3) Purity of carbon dioxide;

(4) Properties of liquid solute;

(5) The contact time and contact area of gas and liquid.

First, when the temperature is constant, the greater the absolute pressure, the greater the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved; When the pressure is constant, the lower the temperature, the more carbon dioxide dissolved; At the same time, the solubility of carbon dioxide in liquid is related to the purity of carbon dioxide and the nature of the liquid. Pure water dissolves carbon dioxide more easily than sugar water. However, it is the dissolved oxygen in the liquid that has a greater impact on the solubility of carbon dioxide. According to the calculation, at the same temperature, dissolving one volume of oxygen will extrude carbon dioxide gas equivalent to 50 times the volume of oxygen. Therefore, the mixer needs to conduct degassing operation before carbonization of the material, in order to exclude oxygen in the material.

Ⅲ. The main composition of carbon dioxide mixer

The hardware is mainly composed of degassing system, mixing system, carbonization system and electrical control system.

1. Degassing system

Degassing tank is a negative pressure vessel, the top is equipped with pneumatic angle valve, connected with the atmosphere of the pipeline, vacuum system pipeline. Vacuum pressure gauge is installed on the side, float type level gauge (high, low, limit low), the bottom pipeline is connected with the pump inlet. The negative pressure of the degassing tank is formed by the suction of air in the tank by the water ring vacuum pump .The vacuum degree of the electrode is achieved by setting the upper limit of the vacuum pressure. The top of the tank is connected with the function of the atmospheric pipeline: one is to discharge the vacuum in the tank, the other is to discharge part of the gas in the tank with the rise of the liquid level when cleaning the inner surface of the tank. When the water from the sprinkler device in the form of spray to reach the degassing tank, the oxygen in the water will overflow, and then discharged to the tank by the vacuum pump.

2. Hybrid systems

The mixing system is an important part of the mixer. It can mix water and syrup stably and automatically at a predetermined rate, and has the advantages of accurate mixing and easy adjustment of proportion. The mixing system mainly includes inlet valve, water tank, sugar water valve, sugar tank, water proportional valve, sugar proportional valve, mixing tank and mixing control valve.

3. Carbonization device

Carbonization tank is a pressure vessel, equipped with a safety valve and overflow tube at the top, the overflow tube is equipped with a solenoid valve and flow meter, the equipment is in the "automatic open" state, the solenoid valve is opened, the overflow valve is opened, the discharge of air in the tank, the tank CO2 gas is purified, flow meter is used to adjust the size of the gas outlet.

The CO2 pressure in the tank is automatically adjusted by the automatic regulator, and the adjustment is based on the difference between the manual setting and the detected actual pressure, so that the CO2 pressure in the tank is stable within the specified range. The setting value of the automatic regulator should be determined according to the relationship between the multiple of CO2 content (GV) of the finished beverage and the pressure and temperature.

When the machine is in the automatic state, the liquid level always fluctuates between the high and low liquid levels, which determines the stop and start of the mixing pump. When the liquid level is below the limit, the extremely low light of the carbonization tank will be on.

The role of CO2 gas ejector is to make CO2 gas can efficiently dissolve in low temperature water, which is a key part of carbonation.

4. Electrical system

The electrical system uses human-machine interface, which is convenient for operators to operate and monitor the actions and processes of relevant components. The PLC of an internationally recognized company is used as a processing unit to collect signals of liquid level, pressure and flow. Control the coordinated action of each actuator.

                                                             Sunswell's latest CO2 Mixer

                                                                                                                                                   Author：Robin