Surdry Retorts and Continuous Sterilizers for Food

Selection and quotation of Surdry equipment: SWS batch retorts, rotary and oscillating models, AP-95 pilot retorts, the continuous sterilizer, SteriNet21 control, RecN energy recovery and basket handling.

SWS Batch Retorts

Retorts with horizontal or vertical doors for packaged food and beverages. SWS technology combines direct steam injection from the bottom with water spray from the top and sides, and compressed air keeps counterpressure. The A-14X-SWS series is standardized at 1400 mm diameter.

Diameter: 950-1800 mm
Chamber length: up to 10 m
Baskets: up to 8
Uniformity: ±0.5 °C

Rotary and Oscillating Retorts

Heat-sensitive products are agitated during the process. Rotary AR-xy retorts turn the baskets through full rotation or oscillate them at a high angle, while oscillating A-xy-OS retorts tilt 15° and take a higher load. The static A-xy model runs without agitation.

Rotation: full 360°
A-xy-OS oscillation: 15°
Static series: A-xy
Mode: SWS or hybrid

SST, Hybrid SWS-SST and WSH Modes

Besides SWS, the manufacturer builds saturated steam SST retorts for small metal cans, hybrid SWS-SST retorts that set the mode for each recipe, and WSH retorts that heat spray water in an external heat exchanger. In SST mode counterpressure is limited to saturated steam pressure.

Saturated steam: SST
Hybrid: SWS-SST
Water heating: WSH
Cooling: plate heat exchanger

AP-95 and APR-95 Pilot Retorts

Lab retorts for recipe development, packaging tests and migrating thermal processes from other equipment. The static AP-95 runs SWS, the rotary unit evaluates agitation, and the multimode APR-95 and APR-95-SV with water tank compare steam, steam-air, water spray and immersion.

Static: AP-95
Multimode: APR-95
With water tank: APR-95-SV
Use: R&D

Surdry Continuous Sterilizer

A horizontal tunnel with heating and cooling sections, covered by EU and US patents. It takes baskets with cans, glass jars, pouches, carton and plastic packs; a basket or stack of trays enters at intervals of 2 minutes or more. Steam use is up to 50% lower than in batch retorts.

Shell diameter: 1.8 m
Speed: up to 1,000 cans/min
Steam saving: up to 50%
Footprint: under 30% of batch

SteriNet21 Control System

Retort control built on Rockwell Automation hardware and COPA-DATA zenon software: a PLC with analog and digital I/O, an Allen-Bradley HMI next to the door, a recorder for temperature and pressure data, and a host PC for recipes. Electronic records meet FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

PLC: Rockwell Automation
Host software: COPA-DATA zenon
Records: 21 CFR Part 11
Control desk: multiple retorts

RecN Energy Recovery

The system returns steam and hot water that a standard retort loses when venting and draining condensate. Supply covers a tank sized for several retorts, PLC, HMI, valves, pumps, filters and consumption meters; the control prevents bacterial growth in the tank.

Steam saving: 20-30%
Cycle time: 5-10% shorter
Water preheat: from RecN tank
Control: PLC and HMI

Basket Handling Automation

Together with partners, the manufacturer supplies basket loading, unloading and conveying for its retorts: sweep or robotic pick-and-place with a shuttle car or AGV. Semi-automatic handling suits lines where a basket layer takes over 2 minutes; automatic lines reach up to 8 layers per minute.

Automatic: up to 8 layers/min
Semi-automatic: layer over 2 min
Transport: shuttle car or AGV
Packs: rigid and flexible

Choosing a Surdry Batch Retort

Surdry batch retorts come with horizontal or vertical doors in diameters from 950 to 1800 mm, chamber lengths up to 10 m and up to 8 baskets. The A-14X-SWS series is standardized at 1400 mm diameter, where X is the number of baskets.

The static A-xy runs without agitation, the rotary AR-xy turns baskets through full rotation or oscillates at a high angle, and the oscillating A-xy-OS tilts 15° and takes a higher load. AP-95, APR-95 and APR-95-SV pilot retorts serve recipe development.

Technology: SWS, SST, Hybrid or WSH

SWS, invented by Surdry in 1983, combines direct steam injection from the bottom with superheated water spray from the top and sides; compressed air offsets container thermal expansion, so the mode suits glass and flexible pouches.

SST saturated steam fits small metal cans, with counterpressure limited to steam pressure. The hybrid SWS-SST sets its mode from the recipe. WSH heats spray water in an external heat exchanger when steam of the required quality is not available.

When a Continuous Sterilizer Fits

The continuous sterilizer targets medium to high output. A basket or stack of trays enters at intervals of 2 minutes or more; with 2,000 cans per 1 m³ basket the line reaches 1,000 cans per minute.

Steam use is up to 50% lower than in batch retorts, and the unit needs under 30% of the floor space of a batch system with equal output. It uses the same loading equipment as batch retorts, and the design is covered by EU and US patents.

SteriNet21 Control and RecN Recovery

SteriNet21 runs on Rockwell Automation hardware and COPA-DATA zenon software: a PLC, an Allen-Bradley HMI next to the door, a temperature and pressure recorder, and a host PC that manages recipes for one or several retorts and links them to plant systems; electronic records meet FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

RecN returns steam and hot water to a shared tank, saving 20-30% steam and cutting cycle time by 5-10%. Basket handling is supplied as semi-automatic or automatic up to 8 layers per minute.

Surdry and model names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to identify the equipment for which we source parts. SpareX is not an official dealer, distributor or representative of Surdry and is not affiliated with the trademark owner. Origin, documents and warranty are stated for each item in the quotation.