Precision dosing made simple with FLUIFILL® technology

In the food and beverage industry, precision is essential, especially when dosing small amounts of liquid ingredients such as aromas, vitamins or colorants. Achieving consistent and accurate results at high speed is a significant challenge for many production lines.

By Peter Derkzen, Application Development Manager, Bronkhorst

High precision dosing of additives is essential in industries where precision, efficiency, and product quality are non-negotiable. To meet this need, Bronkhorst has developed FLUIFILL, a firmware-based solution that enables fast, accurate and straightforward batch dosing. By combining Coriolis or ultrasonic flow meters with integrated batch controllers, FLUIFILL eliminates complexity and ensures consistent performance without requiring a PLC for control.

Whether filling vials, dosing aromas into bottles or adding micro quantities of flavor to hygienic products, FLUIFILL adapts to real-time process conditions. The technology accommodates a broad range of dosing durations, from milliseconds to several seconds, and functions with both PID-controlled and on/off valves or pumps. A wide range of batch sizes can be handled by the instruments, from mg (uL) to kg (L). These instruments automatically learn and continuously adapt to process conditions of their environment, ensuring precise filling from the start while minimizing waste and maximizing traceability.

Designed for precison

The Bronkhorst mini CORI-FLOW and ES-FLOW series are precision instruments designed for accurate measurement and control of low liquid flow rates, making them ideal for dosing applications. The mini CORI-FLOW operates on the Coriolis principle, directly measuring mass flow by detecting the phase shift in vibrating tubes caused by fluid movement. This method ensures high accuracy (≤0.2% Rd) and is independent of fluid properties such as density, viscosity or temperature. In practice, a Coriolis flow meter functions like a weighing scale for flowing mass.

In contrast, the ES-FLOW series utilizes ultrasonic transit-time technology, where sound waves pass through a straight sensor tube and the time difference between upstream and downstream signals determines flow. ES-FLOW offers excellent repeatability (≤0.8% Rd), low internal volume and minimal pressure drop, making it particularly suitable for clean-in-place systems and sensitive dosing applications.

Both instrument series feature integrated PID controllers, batch controllers, totalizers, alarm functions and compatibility with a wide range of fieldbus communication protocols, ensuring seamless integration into automated dosing setups. Compact design, versatility and robust performance make them indispensable tools in industries requiring precise liquid handling at micro- to low-flow rates.

Meeting industry challenges

In today’s food and beverage industry, sustainability, health consciousness, production flexibility, traceability and digital transformation are key topics. Bronkhorst’s precise and adaptable flow measurement and control solutions contribute significantly to these areas by enhancing efficiency and reducing waste. By replacing manually controlled dosing pumps or valves, the digitally operated instruments offer higher precision, better reproducibility and instant warnings about failures in the dosing process. This helps to minimize the waste of expensive additives or large quantities of faulty end products. The digital flow meters feature a large turndown, making them suitable for multiple applications and reducing the need for a large inventory of spare instruments.

FLUIFILL batch dosing technology offers many advantages, such as:

• Proper flow handling, so end users can focus on their own process
• No PLC needed for dosing control, eventually just for configuration
• Optimized batch dosing, meaning less waste
• Low deviation (of desired values) (< 1%), saving money
• Increased quality through dose validation
• Known dosed quantities that can be stored for traceability
• Elimination of valve and pump non-linearity
• (Re)calibration of pumps or valves is necessary less often

Specifically for food and beverage manufacturers, FLUIFILL offers some more key advantages:

• Elimination of pre-mixing, which reduces contamination risks
• No need for additional filling machine for aromas
• Rapid changeovers and cleaning, making it ideal for flexible production lines
• High speed dosing enables the user to maintain normal production speeds (e.g. dosing 0.5 g aroma into 33 cl water bottles at 36000 bph)
• Splash prevention due to specially designed dosing nozzles, enabling dosing into almost filled bottles or cans with base liquid (e.g. flavoring water with aromas like orange, lemon or strawberry) just before screwing the cap on the bottle
• Ease of integration, allowing retrofitting into existing systems with minimal effort
• Focus on sustainability, with low water usage during cleaning and reduced downtime

The versatility of FLUIFILL extends beyond the food and beverage industry. The technology is also highly effective in other sectors, such as filling vials with vaccines or medicine, dosing flavors, aromas, or colorants to hygienic products, and battery filling with electrolytes.

Dosing systems based on instruments with FLUIFILL firmware can easily be configured and monitored using Bronkhorst FlowSuite. This free software application can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store, Google Play Store, and Apple App Store. Alternatively, several fieldbuses are available.

Whether the requirement is producing 63,000 bottles per hour or filling delicate containers with high-value ingredients, FLUIFILL ensures that every drop is accurately dosed.