DQBQ Dual 2,400 BPH 5-Gallon Bottling Line Upgrade Project

DQBQ Mineral Water Co., Ltd. is a major bottled-water producer in Shenyang. The plant records annual sales exceeding 20 million returnable 5-gallon bottles and serves Shenyang together with surrounding markets.

Its delivery radius exceeds 150 km, and the distribution network includes secondary warehouses. This operating model creates a relatively long return cycle for empty bottles and makes both returned-bottle hygiene and plant logistics more challenging.

By 2022, the original packaging lines could no longer adequately support the client’s requirements for production capacity, process capability, bottle-size compatibility, operating efficiency, labor control, and energy use. DQBQ therefore commissioned 4R to configure a new integrated bottling-line solution.

1. Multiple Brands and Multiple Bottle Sizes

DQBQ operates several product brands using different bottle dimensions. The maximum bottle-diameter difference exceeds 30 mm, while bottle-height variation reaches approximately 50 mm.

The new lines needed to keep bottles stable through conveying, external washing, internal washing, filling, bagging, and palletizing. The system also needed to avoid positioning errors, bottle jams, incomplete cleaning coverage, and unstable filling caused by bottle-format changes.

2. Long Returned-Bottle Cycles and Complex Hygiene Conditions

Because of the broad delivery area and secondary distribution warehouses, the return cycle for empty bottles is relatively long and the hygiene condition of incoming bottles varies significantly.

During hot and humid seasons, some returned bottles may show external mold spots, stains, and adherent contamination. Internal conditions can be even more demanding: the inner wall, shoulder, bottom, and bottle mouth may contain residual moisture, deposits, and elevated microbiological risk.

This required stronger cleaning intensity, more reliable spray coverage, effective alkaline washing, and dependable disinfection for the internal washing process, together with mechanical cleaning, alkaline washing, disinfection, and final rinsing for bottle exteriors.

3. Two-Floor Plant Layout and Vertical Logistics

The first floor needed to remain available for finished-product inventory and logistics. Major washing, filling, and related production equipment therefore had to be arranged on the second floor.

Empty bottles needed to move from the first floor to the second-floor production area, while filled products needed to return efficiently to the first floor for bagging, palletizing, and direct warehouse entry.

4. High Peak-Day Output and Long-Term Efficiency

Although annual sales exceed 20 million bottles, peak-day demand exceeds 100,000 bottles. The project therefore required more than nominal capacity. It required sustained line efficiency, lower manual handling, controlled power consumption, reduced downtime, and reliable output during high-demand periods.

4R configured two 2,400 BPH 5-gallon bottling lines operating in parallel. The solution was designed around bottle-format compatibility, automatic one-button changeover, intensive external and internal washing, two-floor material flow, high-speed filling, hygienic filling conditions, and end-of-line automation.

The project was configured as part of a complete 5-gallon bottling line solution, integrating returned-bottle handling, washing, filling, conveying, bagging, palletizing, and practical plant logistics.

To support multiple brands and bottle specifications, the lines were configured with automatic one-button bottle-format changeover.

Pre-set programs allow key parameters to switch between different bottle diameters and heights with fewer manual adjustments. This reduces changeover time, avoids adjustment inconsistency, and improves line stability after switching from one bottle format to another.

The result is a more efficient and reliable production process for plants that need to run multiple brands or multiple returnable bottle specifications on the same line.

To preserve the first floor for finished-product inventory and logistics, 4R arranged the major washing, filling, and related production equipment on the second floor.

Decapping, bagging, and palletizing were arranged on the first floor. Empty bottles enter from the first floor and move to the second-floor washing and filling section. Finished bottles return to the first floor for bagging, palletizing, and direct warehouse transfer.

4R designed dedicated spiral elevators to transfer both empty bottles and finished bottles between floors. The spiral elevators provide stable high-speed conveying, a compact footprint, low chain wear, and reduced risk of bottle jams compared with conventional vertical transfer arrangements.

To address external mold spots, stains, and adherent contamination on long-cycle returned bottles, 4R divided external washing into three independent equipment stages:

1. Brush washing combined with alkaline external washing;
2. External surface disinfection;
3. Final external clean-water rinsing.

The first stage combines mechanical brush action with alkaline washing to remove stubborn external deposits, mold spots, and visible contamination. The second stage provides external disinfection. The final stage rinses away process residues and prepares the bottle exterior for downstream operations.

This configuration separates mechanical soil removal, alkaline washing, disinfection, and final rinsing rather than relying on one device to complete all external-cleaning work. See the related technical discussion on caustic washing, rinsing, and disinfection in 5-gallon bottling lines.

The internal washing section uses 4R’s mature high-pressure alkaline washing and integrated disinfection process.

For returned bottles with varying internal hygiene conditions, the system combines high-pressure spraying, alkaline washing, and disinfection to improve cleaning coverage and sanitation reliability across critical areas including the inner wall, bottle shoulder, bottom, and bottle mouth.

This approach helps reduce risks associated with residual moisture, deposits, and microbiological contamination before filling. Read more about high-pressure internal washing for returnable 5-gallon bottles.

The filling section uses a 20-valve rotary filling machine. The system is designed for stable continuous operation, accurate filling level control, and a maximum operating speed of up to 3,000 BPH.

The filling machine includes a hygienic clean filling chamber. Control components are separated from the filling area by a stainless-steel partition and placed above the filling zone. The filling chamber retains only the filling valves and directly relevant product-contact components, helping reduce unnecessary dust-collection and contamination points.

An FFU is installed above the filling chamber to maintain a Class 100 clean-air environment and stable positive pressure in the filling area. The filling distribution cylinder, filling pipelines, and related product-contact piping are configured with CIP circuits to support effective and repeatable cleaning.

The combination of hygienic chamber design, clean-air protection, positive pressure, and CIP capability supports stable product-quality control during high-output production.

After filling, finished bottles are transferred to the first floor for bagging and palletizing. This arrangement helps finished products move directly into the inventory and warehouse logistics area without unnecessary manual transfer steps.

By integrating stable conveying, bagging, and palletizing, the project supports more efficient end-of-line handling and reduces labor demand during peak production periods.

After commissioning, the two lines have operated in parallel for long-term production.

The actual average annual line efficiency reached 97.8%, while product quality remained stable.

Automatic one-button bottle-format changeover also improved the efficiency, stability, and flexibility of multi-brand production by reducing manual adjustment work between different bottle specifications.

The project delivered practical value in several areas:

• Compatibility with multiple brands and bottle formats;
• Improved external and internal washing capability for long-cycle returned bottles;
• Effective coordination between first-floor inventory needs and second-floor production equipment;
• Higher delivery capability during peak-demand days;
• Reduced manual transfer and handling between floors;
• Higher overall production efficiency through dual-line operation, stable conveying, and reliable filling;
• Improved labor allocation and unit-output energy performance;
• Stable hygienic control through reinforced washing, clean filling conditions, FFU protection, and CIP circuits.

For a large 5-gallon water producer with annual sales above 20 million bottles and peak-day demand above 100,000 bottles, a line upgrade is not simply a matter of adding machines.

The real engineering challenge is to balance multiple bottle formats, multi-brand production, complex returned-bottle hygiene conditions, limited factory space, peak-order pressure, labor requirements, energy use, and long-term operating stability.

This project demonstrates 4R’s complete-line engineering capability for large returnable 5-gallon water plants:

• Multi-format bottle compatibility;
• Automatic one-button bottle-format changeover;
• Complex returned-bottle external and internal washing processes;
• Dual-line production organization;
• Two-floor factory logistics planning;
• High-speed spiral elevator conveying;
• High-pressure internal washing and disinfection;
• High-speed rotary filling;
• Class 100 clean filling conditions;
• CIP cleaning capability;
• Integrated balance between automation, labor efficiency, and long-term reliability.

For complex high-output returnable-bottle operations, stable quality and sustainable efficiency depend on treating washing, filling hygiene, plant layout, bottle compatibility, and line efficiency as one complete engineering system.