Hygienic sensors for a reliable and efficient cleaning process
In food manufacturing, cleaning-in-place (CIP) systems are a standard component for ensuring reliable and efficient adherence to quality standards. The requirements placed on sensors used for process control are particularly high in the dairy industry. Anderson-Negele offers tailored solution for optimising the CIP process using turbidity and conductivity sensors.
The conventional CIP process
The CIP cleaning process consists of numerous interlinked steps. Plant operators need to take into account more than just the downtime of the system. Costs also arise from the consumption of water, chemicals and energy, as well as product loss. The sequence of the individual cleaning cycles is often still time-controlled. These fixed cleaning intervals may guarantee that the system is always cleaned properly, but more water, cleaning solution and time may be consumed than would actually be necessary for the medium being processed.
The solution is to automate control of the CIP system using turbidity and conductivity sensors.
Lowering water consumption – using chemicals efficiently
The average water consumption – depending on the product – is 1.5 to 3 litres per processed litre of milk. Half of this water is used for cleaning the system. A disadvantage of cleaning processes with fixed time intervals is that the maximum required cleaning duration must be used for each cleaning cycle. For example, the removal time for pasty media is considerably longer than for less viscous products. Therefore, when performing CIP cleaning after producing media with less viscosity, more water is used than necessary. This can be remedied through automated process control using the turbidity and conductivity sensors from Anderson-Negele. Water consumption at a large Canadian ice cream manufacturer was lowered from an average of 6,500 to 2,500 litres per cleaning cycle simply by deploying an intelligent phase detection system. The result was savings in water and wastewater costs. In addition, shorter cleaning cycles led to a lower consumption of acids and bases. The use of chemicals can be precisely controlled by measuring their concentrations using the ILM conductivity sensor, allowing their consumption to be further optimised.
Minimising product losses
Experience has shown that production-related losses in milk reach 0.5% in large dairies and 2.5% in small operations. It is particularly the plants with low levels of automation that experience significant losses in product. The precise and rapid detection of water-to-milk phases using the ITM-3 turbidity sensor leads to reductions in product losses of 5–10% in customer field projects.
Cleaning = downtime
A CIP cleaning process usually takes 60–90 minutes. A hygienic design of the entire system is therefore an important contributor to shortening the cleaning cycles and increasing the efficiency and productivity of the process. As a specialist for sensor systems in hygienic processes, we produce sensors and process connections that are optimally designed for the demanding requirements of the dairy industry and that ensure reliable and efficient cleaning of the system
You, too, can reduce the consumption of water and chemicals in your plant and keep product loss and downtime to a minimum.
See how Nestle in Canada did…
Nestle Canada – Case Study – Turbidity Meters for CIP in ice cream production
Discuss your requirements with ITS or take a look at our range of CIP controls on: Product Page
