Controlling Foam to Ensure Efficient Fills

We recently discussed packaging machinery for soaps and the fact that many soap products tend to foam during the fill. However, soaps are not the only product on the market that experience this issue. Foaming during the filling process can lead to inconsistent fills by both volume and level if the foam is not controlled. Depending on the filling machine, Liquid Packaging Solutions incorporates different techniques to avoid this inconsistency.

When filling bottles to a specific level, versus filling by volume, packagers use an overflow filling machine. This filler uses nozzles that not only release liquid in to the bottles, but also returns product to the holding tank through the same nozzle. While this technique is what allows bottles to be filled to a specific level, it also in and of itself helps to control foam. As additional liquid is pushed in to the bottle, the overflow process removes the foam from the container.

Volumetric filling machines will not control foam simply through the process of filling. However, both nozzles and techniques can be used on volumetric filling machines such as gravity and pump fillers. Anti-foam nozzles can be used to control foaming as the product enters the bottle. Machines may also be set up to dive nozzles into bottles and allow for the container to be filled from the bottom up. This type of fill produces less agitation of product, which in turn helps to control foam.

Both the type of filling machine and the techniques used to control foam will depend in part on the product and fill principle used for any given packaging project. These machines and nozzles are available for both automatic and semi-automatic liquid fillers. LPS is always happy to assist packagers in understanding the different options and finding the best anti-foaming solution for each individual enterprise.