Peach/Apricot /Plum Puree Processing Line

Sunshine Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. designs, manufactures and commissions complete Peach/Apricot /Plum Puree Production Line manufacturer systems that take fresh stone fruit from the receiving bin through washing, sorting, destoning, preheating, pulping, concentration, UHT sterilization and aseptic filling. The line is built for processors producing NFC puree, concentrated puree and pulp for beverage, dairy, bakery and baby-food customers, with fresh-fruit intake typically between 2 and 25 t/h.

Every project starts from the finished product: brix, viscosity, colour target, pack format and shelf-life requirement. From that working point we set the process flow, select the destoner and pulper screens, size the evaporator and sterilizer, and match the aseptic filler to the bag or drum format.

Process Flow of Our Stone Fruit Puree Line

The sequence below is the standard configuration. Stages can be added, bypassed or duplicated depending on fruit condition and the final product specification.

Product Range and Configuration Options

We supply the line as a turnkey package or as individual key machines for plants that already own part of the process. The table below shows how the main configurations differ.

Where local fruit supply is seasonal and varied, we design multi-fruit combined lines so the same destoner, pulper and evaporator serve peach, apricot and plum campaigns. Changeover is handled through screen and paddle changes plus recipe settings in the PLC, which raises annual equipment utilisation without duplicating capital.

Critical Specifications and What They Mean

• Fresh-fruit intake: the design basis for every upstream machine; downstream evaporator and sterilizer capacity is matched to pulp flow, not fruit weight.
• Brix and viscosity: set the evaporator stage count and the pulper screen; high-viscosity puree needs a forced external circulation evaporator rather than a falling-film unit.
• Sterilization temperature and hold time: defined by the product's pH and target shelf life; the tube-in-tube design keeps residence time short so colour and aroma survive the heat load.
• Heat regeneration: our sterilizer recovers heat between outgoing sterile product and incoming cold product, cutting steam demand compared with a non-regenerative arrangement.
• Filling accuracy and bag format: 5 L, 10 L, 20 L, 220 L drums and 1000 L bins each require a different filler head and weighing arrangement.
• Material and surface finish: product-contact parts in food-grade stainless steel with weld and surface treatment suited to acidic fruit puree.

Controls, Automation and Line Integration

The line runs on a PLC control system with main electrical components from SIEMENS, SCHNEIDER or equivalent international brands. Recipes for different fruits and product grades are stored in the controller, so operators recall a setpoint group rather than re-entering temperatures and speeds at each campaign.

We configure the control architecture around the interfaces that already exist in your plant: CIP supply and return, chilled water, steam pressure, compressed air and the connection point to existing upstream or downstream equipment. Where a line is added to an existing factory, we map the new instruments into the customer's SCADA or DCS rather than imposing a separate supervisory layer.

Installation, Utilities and Operator Safety

• Steam, cooling water, compressed air and electrical supply are sized during plant layout planning and confirmed against the final equipment list.
• Floor loading, drainage and CIP routing are reviewed before shipment so civil works proceed in parallel with manufacturing.
• Guarding on pulpers, destoners and conveyors, emergency stops and interlocked access points are part of the standard build.
• Hot surfaces on the sterilizer and preheater are insulated and marked; aseptic filling zones are arranged for controlled operator access.

Quality Assurance and Acceptance

We apply full-process quality management from incoming material to dispatch. Every machine completes a trial run and water commissioning before delivery, so mechanical alignment, rotation direction, seal tightness and control logic are proven before the equipment leaves the workshop.

At site, acceptance follows a documented sequence: mechanical completion, water test, product run, sterilization validation and aseptic filling trial. Bag integrity, fill weight and microbiological results from the first production batches form the handover record. Our engineers remain on site after commissioning to support the first production runs.

Maintenance, Spare Parts and Serviceability

Destoner screens, pulper paddles and finisher screens are wear items, so we design access around them: quick-release covers, accessible bearings and clearly identified lubrication points. Spare parts for these components are supplied with the line and can be reordered as a kit.

Our service scope covers spare parts replacement, scheduled inspection, remote diagnosis of control faults and modernisation of older equipment. Annual pre-season visits allow inspection and maintenance before the fruit campaign begins, which is when unplanned downtime is most expensive.

Related Lines in Our Range

The same engineering approach is applied across our fruit and vegetable processing range, so a plant producing several products can share utilities, CIP and filling infrastructure.

• Mango puree processing line for tropical fruit with similar pulping and aseptic filling requirements.
• Tomato paste processing line for high-viscosity hot-break products using comparable evaporation and sterilization technology.
• Apple, pear and thorn-pear juice processing line where clear juice rather than puree is the target.

Information We Use to Configure Your Solution

A proposal is prepared from the following project inputs. Where data is not yet fixed, we work with ranges and confirm the design basis before manufacturing begins.

• Fruit type, variety, average size, pit-to-flesh ratio and expected seasonal volume.
• Target fresh-fruit intake per hour and daily operating hours.
• Finished product specification: NFC or concentrate, target brix, viscosity, colour and pulp content.
• Pack format and sizes, plus required shelf life and storage conditions.
• Site data: available floor area, ceiling height, steam and power capacity, water quality and drainage.
• Existing equipment to be integrated and preferred automation brand or protocol.
• Investment budget range and project timeline, including campaign start date.

Frequently Asked Questions

What capacity range does the peach, apricot and plum puree line cover?

Our standard range runs from 2 to 25 t/h of fresh fruit input. Smaller pilot and laboratory configurations are available for product development, and larger industrial lines can be engineered for higher intake where site conditions allow.

Can one line process peach, apricot and plum in the same season?

Yes. We design multi-fruit combined lines with interchangeable destoner screens and pulper paddles, plus separate PLC recipes for each fruit. This suits regions where several stone fruits ripen in sequence and the plant needs to keep the line loaded across the campaign.

How is colour and flavour protected during concentration and sterilization?

Concentration takes place under vacuum at low temperature in a multi-effect evaporator, and sterilization uses a tube-in-tube UHT system with short residence time. Piping is laid out to keep temperature changes short in distance and time, limiting aroma loss and browning.

What aseptic pack formats can the filling stage handle?

Aseptic bag-in-drum filling covers 5 L to 220 L bags, and 1000 L bins are available for bulk concentrate. Bag-in-box filling is offered where smaller retail or food-service formats are required.

What support is included after commissioning?

We provide on-site installation guidance, commissioning, operator training and maintenance instruction. After handover, our engineers can stay on site for initial production, and we carry out annual pre-season inspections with spare parts supply and remote fault diagnosis.