Production Line Introduction

The NFC orange juice processing production line is specifically designed for the industrial production of high-quality non-concentrated (NFC) orange juice, with an annual processing capacity flexibly covering raw material needs from 100 tons to 100,000 tons. The core of the production line lies in its optimized online pressing, fine separation, and low-temperature degassing processes. This maximizes the preservation of the natural flavor, color, and heat-sensitive nutrients of fresh oranges while precisely controlling the content of peel oil and pulp, ensuring a pure taste, stable flavor, and perfectly presenting the rich texture of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Process Description

Raw Material Cleaning: Fresh oranges are gently unloaded into the cleaning section via a water conveyor system. First, a brush-type cleaning machine, combined with water flow, performs a deep scrubbing, effectively removing surface dust and dirt from the stem cavities. Then, a uniform spray of disinfectant containing 10-30 ppm of available chlorine is used for sterilization. Finally, a high-pressure cleaning water rinse is applied to thoroughly rinse the raw materials, ensuring that the initial microbial load is minimized.

Grading and Sorting: After washing, oranges enter an optical or mechanical grading machine for precise sorting according to set standards. This process automatically removes unqualified small fruits (less than 30mm in diameter), deformed fruits, and diseased fruits, retaining only uniformly sized, high-quality raw materials for the juicing stage. This is a crucial prerequisite for ensuring the efficient and stable operation of the juicing equipment and the consistency of juice quality.

Halving and Juicing: An advanced double-drum halving juicer is used as the core of the production line. Whole fruits are continuously and automatically cut in half by a bowl-type conveyor mechanism and fed into two vertical drums for juice extraction. The equipment can automatically separate juice, peel, seeds, and peel oil online simultaneously, minimizing excessive breakage of the peel and pulp during the extraction process. This is the fundamental guarantee for maintaining high-quality juice, low bitterness, and high juice yield.

Fine Filtration and Pulp Adjustment: After coarse filtration, the extracted juice is immediately pumped into a centrifuge for fine separation. This process aims to precisely control the content of small fruit pulp particles in the finished juice, typically stabilizing it within the ideal range of 3%-5%, thus giving NFC orange juice its characteristic good turbidity, natural color, and rich, layered flavor.

Vacuum Degassing and Oil Blending: The finely filtered juice enters a vacuum degassing unit. Under a precisely controlled vacuum and temperature environment (e.g., 50-52℃), dissolved oxygen and volatile green odor gases are efficiently removed, improving flavor stability and effectively preventing oxidative browning. This unit can simultaneously perform oil removal, selectively removing excess peel oil by adjusting process parameters, precisely locking the aromatic oil content of the final product within the optimal flavor range (typically 0.015%-0.025%).

Homogenization (Optional): To ensure the product’s textural stability and prevent stratification during its shelf life, a low-temperature homogenization process can be added depending on the product’s positioning, ensuring uniform suspension of fruit pulp particles.

Sterilization and Cooling: After degassing, the orange juice undergoes instantaneous pasteurization using a tubular heat exchanger. Under precise temperature control (e.g., 95℃/15 seconds), pathogenic and spoilage bacteria are efficiently killed while maximizing the preservation of fresh flavor and heat-sensitive vitamin C. Immediately after sterilization, the juice enters a multi-stage cooling section to rapidly cool it to the required bottling temperature.

Aseptic Filling: The cooled juice is filled into sterilized cardboard boxes, PET bottles, or aseptic bags in a completely aseptic environment. This process achieves commercial sterility, granting the product a long shelf life at room temperature or significantly extending its refrigerated shelf life, meeting diverse market demands.

Labeling and Packaging: After filling, the finished product is inspected, labeled, and coded, then finally packed and palletized for warehousing.

Basic Equipment Components

Hydraulic Conveying Tank and Elevator: Gently transports the raw oranges from the unloading area to the washing section, effectively reducing mechanical damage.

Brush-type Washing Machine:Uses rotating brushes in conjunction with water flow to deeply clean the surface of oranges.

Spray Disinfection and Rinsing Unit:Integrates independent disinfectant spray and clean water spray units for efficient sterilization and final washing.

Grading Machine:Equipped with drum-type or electro-optical grading equipment to accurately remove substandard raw materials based on size or weight.

Half-juicing Machine:The core of the production line, efficiently extracting juice from whole fruits and separating peel, pulp, and seeds online.

Juice Buffer Tank:Temporarily stores raw juice, providing flow balance for subsequent continuous processing.

Centrifuge Separator:Precisely controls the pulp content and turbidity of the finished product.

Vacuum Degassing and Oil Removal Unit:Integrated removal of dissolved oxygen and excess peel oil, stabilizing flavor and color.

Pasteurization System:A high-efficiency tubular pasteurizer with precise temperature control to lock in freshness.

Aseptic Filling System:Completes final packaging in a sterile environment for long-term preservation.

CIP In-situ Cleaning System:Fully automatic circulating cleaning ensures hygiene and safety throughout the entire production line.

Automatic control system: integrates PLC and industrial touch screen to monitor and record key process parameters throughout the process.