Packaging Sunflower Seeds in Nitrogen-Flushed Bags

March 13, 2020

When packaging sunflower seeds, producers nearly always use a system that replaces oxygen inside the forming bag with nitrogen. This extends the product’s shelf life.

Ordinary air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide and small amounts of other gases. Oxygen causes oxidation and consequent food spoilage, so it is displaced with nitrogen during packaging. If the residual oxygen in the bag is kept below 1%, sunflower seeds can remain fresh for up to six months. Otherwise they may turn rancid in as little as one month.

The Problem

A vertical packaging machine cyclically forms bags from rollstock and prepares product portions of a specified weight. It then discharges the sunflower seeds into the open bag. The simplest approach would be to inject nitrogen at this stage to replace the air and then hermetically seal the bag. This method, however, is ineffective. Laboratory measurements show that the pack contains 4% oxygen the following day. The problem lies not only in the gas displacement method but also in the seeds themselves. Oxygen remains trapped in the hulls and adsorbed on the surface of the sunflower seeds, gradually migrating into the pack.

The NOTIS Solution

How to keep oxygen content below 1%

Packaging sunflower seeds in Novosibirsk

For sunflower seed applications, NOTIS equips its vertical filling and packaging machines with the ZIG2 inert gas flushing system, which guarantees no more than 0.8% residual oxygen in the bag. The nitrogen purity must be at least 99.95%.

Importantly, the 0.8% figure is a sustained result in a hermetically sealed pack. Laboratory tests were performed after three days and again after one month. Most competitors find this result virtually impossible to achieve.

The system uses an enclosure made of acrylic panels and plastic frames around the machine’s weighing section. The filler buckets are additionally covered by special housings. The ZIG2 system flushes oxygen adsorbed on the surface of the seeds.

Displacement begins inside the enclosed elevator, which raises the product from below into the filler hopper within the enclosure. Flushing continues in the hopper and while the seeds travel along the feeder trays. Nitrogen continues to bathe the product as it enters the weighing buckets and then falls through the machine’s forming tube into the bag.

The bag is hermetically sealed, producing a high-quality packaged product.

Safety

An inert gas does not react chemically with the product. In simple terms, it does not spoil or oxidize the contents or alter their taste or smell. Nitrogen (N₂) is an inert gas. It is colorless, tasteless and odorless, does not support combustion, and is safe at normal concentrations. In excessive concentrations, however, it can displace oxygen and cause asphyxiation.

The NOTIS solution includes a gas analyzer that monitors residual oxygen around the packaging line. Multiple sensors track the concentration in real time. If a reading moves outside the permitted range, the system generates visual and audible alarms, shuts off the nitrogen supply and stops the cycle until the cause has been corrected. The working area is ventilated and personnel receive appropriate safety training. These controls prevent nitrogen from accumulating in the room and ensure safe working conditions.

Packaging sunflower seeds in 90 and 300 gram bags

During the five years preceding this article’s publication in 2020, dozens of companies in Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Ukraine, Estonia and Armenia ordered our inert gas flushing system together with packaging equipment.

2025 update: sunflower seed producers throughout Russia and neighboring countries continue to order this equipment. We have also introduced an economical solution for semi-automatic filling of sunflower seeds into premade bags.

Sunflower seed filler with nitrogen flushing

Request a Price and Proposal

Contact us for a professional proposal on nitrogen-flush packaging equipment for sunflower seeds, nuts, chips and snacks. Email market@notis.ru, call +7 383 292-60-06, or message +7 913 916-60-06 on WhatsApp.