Blow fill seal

Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) technology is a manufacturing technique used to produce small, (0.1mL) and large volume, (500mL +) liquid-filled containers. Originally developed in Europe in the 1930s, it was introduced in the United States in the 1960s, but over the last 20 years it has become more prevalent within the pharmaceutical industry and is now widely considered to be the superior form of aseptic processing by various medicine regulatory agencies including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the packaging of pharmaceutical and healthcare products.

The basic concept of BFS is that a container is formed, filled, and sealed in a continuous process without human intervention, in a sterile enclosed area inside a machine. Thus this technology can be used to aseptically manufacture sterile pharmaceutical liquid dosage forms.

The process is multi-stepped: first, pharmaceutical-grade plastic resin is vertically heat extruded through a circular throat to form a hanging tube called the parison. This extruded tube is then enclosed within a two-part mould, and the tube is cut above the mould. The mould is transferred to the filling zone, or sterile filling space, where filling needles (mandrels) are lowered and used to inflate the plastic to form the container within the mould. Following the formation of the container, the mandrel is used to fill the container with liquid. Following filling the mandrels are retracted and a secondary top mould seals the container. All actions take place inside a sterile shrouded chamber inside the machine. The product is then discharged to a non-sterile area for labeling, packaging and distribution.

Blow-fill-seal technology reduces personnel intervention making it a more robust method for the aseptic preparation of sterile pharmaceuticals. BFS is used for the filling of vials for parenteral preparations and infusions, eye drops, and inhalation products. Generally the plastic containers are made up of polyethylene and polypropylene. Polypropylene is more commonly used to form containers which are further sterilised by autoclaving as polypropylene has greater thermostability.

References

Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN 1-930268-25-4
Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6

Packaging

General topics	Active packaging Child-resistant packaging Disposable food packaging Food packaging Luxury packaging Modified atmosphere/modified humidity packaging Package pilferage Package testing Packaging engineering Pharmaceutical packaging Reusable packaging Shelf life Sustainable packaging Tamper-evident Tamper resistance Wrap rage

Containers	Aerosol spray Aluminium bottle Aluminum can Ampoule Antistatic bag Bag-in-box Bags and flexible containers Barrel Beer bottle Biodegradable bag Blister pack Boil-in-Bag Bottle Box Bulk box Carboy Carton Chub Clamshell Corrugated box design Crate Drum Envelope Flexible intermediate bulk container Foam food container Folding carton Growler Insulated shipping container Intermediate bulk container Jar Jerrycan Jug Juicebox Keg Matryoshka doll Multi-pack Oyster pail Packet (container) Padded mailer Pail Paper bag Paper sack Plastic bag Plastic bottle Popcorn bag Retort pouch Sachet Security bag Self-heating can Self-heating food packaging Shaker-style pantry box Shipping container Skin pack Spray bottle Tin can Tube Unit load Vial Wooden box

Materials and components	Adhesive Aluminium foil Bioplastic Biodegradable plastic BoPET Bubble wrap Bung Cellophane Closure Coated paper Coating Corrugated fiberboard Corrugated plastic Cushioning Desiccant Double seam Foam peanut Glass Hot-melt adhesive Kraft paper Label Linear low-density polyethylene Liquid packaging board Low-density polyethylene Metallised film Modified atmosphere Molded pulp Nonwoven fabric Overwrap Oxygen scavenger Packaging gas Pallet Paper Paper pallet Paperboard Plastic film Plastic pallet Plastic wrap Polyester Polyethylene Polypropylene Pressure-sensitive tape Screw cap Screw cap (wine) Security printing Security seal Shock detector Shock and vibration data logger Shrink wrap Slip sheet Staple (fastener) Strapping Stretch wrap Susceptor Tear tape Temperature data logger Time temperature indicator Tinplate Velostat

Processes	Aseptic processing Authentication Automatic identification and data capture Blow fill seal Blow molding Calendering Canning Coating Containerization Curtain Coating Die cutting Electronic article surveillance Extrusion Extrusion coating Graphic design HACCP Hermetic seal Induction sealing Injection molding Laminating Laser cutting Molding Papermaking Plastic welding Plastics extrusion Printing Quality assurance Radio-frequency identification Roll slitting Shearing (manufacturing) Track and trace Vacuum forming Ultrasonic welding Vacuum packaging Verification and validation

Machinery	Barcode printer Barcode reader Bottling line Calender Can seamer Cartoning machine Case sealer Check weigher Conveyor system Extended core stretch wrapper Filler Heat gun Heat sealer Industrial robot Injection molding machine Label printer applicator Lineshaft roller conveyor Logistics automation Material handling equipment Mechanical brake stretch wrapper Multihead weigher Orbital stretch wrapping Palletizer Rotary wheel blow molding systems Shrink tunnel Staple gun Tape dispenser Turntable stretch wrapper Vertical form fill sealing machine

Environment, post-use	Biodegradation Environmental engineering Glass recycling Industrial ecology Life-cycle assessment Litter Paper recycling Plastic recycling Recycling Reusable packaging Reverse logistics Source reduction Sustainable packaging Waste management

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Blow fill seal

See also

References