Cleaning head technology is used across all of the process industries to prepare the tank for production of the next batch of product, below is a short description of typical applications across the different process industries.

Brewing Industry

In this industry clean in place (CIP) is a big part of the brewing process, with many differing applications all with their own particular cleaning demands. The tank sizes are large and some have heavy levels of soiling making the correct choice of cleaning head technology very important.

Brewhouse : This has to be one of the harder to clean applications in the brewery, the tanks are large, there is a lot of high temperatures so burn on of product is encountered, high levels particulates are left behind after the process and some of the applications have internal structures creating shadow areas such as Rake Arms and Kalandria’s.

So to effectively achieve a repeatable clean of the Brewhouse the unit most commonly used is the TZ-74 Brew Kettle version which is specially configured internally to withstand the high volumes of recirculated product and the generally hostile environment.

Fermentation : Fermentation Vessels come in all shapes and sizes, from vertical cylindrical, horizontal cylindrical, Yorkshire Square’s or horizontal Bread Loaf shaped vessels which all require good levels of impingement to guarantee removal of the heavy Yeast, Trub/Proteins and Hop Materials.

Another difficult aspect of cleaning the horizontal Fermenters is the Yeast or Bottoms which can build up to as much as 6” on the floor of the vessel, but this can be removed by burst washing with a RJH for 1 minute and then scavenging for up to 2 minutes and so on for another 2 – 3 bursts.

The unit used predominately to clean these applications is the RJH because good impingement is required as well as fast cycle times, whilst at the same time minimising the use of utilities and the generation of effluent.

Yeast Tanks : Most often these applications will have an offset or centrally mounted agitator and use 3 cleaning heads to clean it, 2 positioned in the top dish and 1 down low to clean underneath the Agitator blade. Sterility is very important to achieve and in new tank installations 1 RJH is used complete with the validation system Rotacheck to give that repeatable cleaning standard with feed back on each segment on the CIP cycle as it progresses.

Conditioning : Many of these tanks can be horizontal with the requirement for good Bottoms removal, the tanks are large and use  many fixed spray balls but the retrofit of RJH’s bring the benefits as described with Horizontal Fermenters.

Bright Beer : The cleaning difficulty for this application is typically less than the rest of the applications in the Brewery as this is finished Beer, there will be no fill level build up or bottoms to remove so the cleaning head technology can be either the Fixed Spray Ball or the more efficient Rotary Spray Head.

Distilling Industry

The Distilling Industry has been very busy over the last five years retrofitting automated CIP systems and cleaning head technology across all of its different process applications. From Washbacks which are either of original wood construction or the more modern stainless steel, Mash Tuns/Lauter Tuns up to 6 – 8m diameter with centrally rotating rake arms and perforated floor, Pot Ale Tanks, Wash Receivers, Underbacks, Yeast Tanks and Stills, all can be automatically cleaned using the latest in tank cleaning equipment. Even the more awkward applications such as Vent Stacks, Steeles Mashers and Condenser Stacks have been successfully retrofitted with specially configured targeted spray head units that remove the requirement for manual cleaning and man entry.

Dairy

The Dairy industry has many different manufacturing processes and applications all demanding good levels of hygiene and fast repeatable CIP cycle times.

Raw Milk Silo’s : Cleaning large Silo’s is relatively simple as Milk rinses away quite easily, the real issue is to achieve a good repeatable level of clean in the shortest possible time using the minimum amount of utilities. There is always going to be a balance regarding CIP volume requirements as the Silo’s are normally cleaned at the same time as the outlet pipe work which can be 4” – 6” in diameter. This means careful attention has to taken when sizing the cleaning head type so that the flow rate through it allows the cleaning of the pipe work as well. In the last five years all major dairy expansions/new builds have used the SaniMega Rotary spray head with great effect, achieving all the latest cleaning demands whilst at the same time minimising the use of the dairies precious utilities by at least 30%.

Cream Tanks : These tanks have Agitators inside and normally require more than one head to clean it, using a short rinse to recover any product remaining after the tank has been emptied and then moving on to the normal CIP cycle.

RSH’s are commonly used in this type of application although the latest RJH’s are being used more and more to minimise product recovery rinse water volumes and achieve fast turn around times.

Yoghurts, Cheese’s : Tanks manufacturing these products can sometimes be the most complex in the Dairy and again RSH and RJH technologies are the most common cleaning systems used.

Dryers : A Dryer plant is made up of Filters, Cyclones, Dryer Chambers and interconnecting Duct Work, all requiring cleaning on a regular basis with basically all of the different types of cleaning head technologies used across the system.

RJH’s for the main Dryer and the larger Cyclones, fixed or retractable spray balls for the Duct Work and Filters.

The Dairy Industry produces a very broad spectrum of products, in addition to the above, Fruit Juices, Milk Flavoured Drinks, Yoghurt Drinks, all varieties of Cheese’s and Butter etc. The industry will always be looking to use the latest in CIP cleaning head technologies and processes to maximise their operational efficiency to help them stay competitive in a very tough market place.

Food : This has to be one of the largest and most diverse process industries of all because it encompasses products from Soups and Sauces to Biscuits/Bread to Jams and Yogurts to name just few, all of which are made from very different ingredients and in their own specific manufacturing plant.

CIP plays a very big part in the manufacturing process especially when products are made in short campaigns where frequent cleaning is required or where there is cooking/heat involved in the process with the added complication of mixing/agitation.
It is possible to clean even the most burnt on products automatically using typically a RJH and the correctly chosen chemicals in very short cycle times on a repeatable basis it just takes careful positioning of the chosen cleaning head technology to guarantee no shadows are created by the internal structures during the CIP cycle.

The Beverage/Soft Drinks

This is another segment of the process industry that has been working hard to reduce the volumes of water to drain and plant down time during their CIP processes. Typically an easy product to remove from the internal surfaces of the tank, it has been common in the past to use the standard 16swg fixed spray ball to deliver a clean of the tank. But with a common practice of 20 minute rinse times between batches to drain as well as 10 minute Pre Rinses to drain during the CIP cycle, dramatic reductions in effluent can be achieved ( 50% ) by installing the easily retrofitable rotary spray head unit. The rotary spray head delivers a much more effective cleaning performance by generating a vibrational impingement from fan shaped jets that guarantee full coverage across all the internal surfaces of the tank.

Pharmaceuticals And Chemical

These industries have very differing processes, products and cleaning standard requirements, applications stretch from the Biotech Plant to a Bulk Chemical manufacturing facility.
It is an industry where huge progress has been made in cleaning head design with cleaning head systems now able to support the whole CIP process with validatable information on the success of the CIP recipe and it progress regarding implementation.
RJH’s are now commonly used because of their abilities to achieve repeatable cleaning standards with the minimum of water/solvent usage, for example as low as 1.5m3/hr, this is very important when cleaning with very expensive solvent or WFI.

But all cleaning head technologies are used across the industry in the differing applications with the fixed spray ball being favoured in many powder manufacturing processes either on retractable units or fixed installed inside of Filters and Duct Work etc.
These are industries that can still benefit greatly from the wider use of the new cleaning head technologies but because of the requirement for re-validation after any changes to equipment or process design etc, it is always going to take many years to achieve a big change.

Other Industries

Paint and the Paper Industry: These 2 industries are both totally different in the products they manufacture and the methods they employ to produce them.

The Paint industry manufactures all types of protective coating, some water soluble but the majority not, requiring a solvent to be used to successfully remove the product from the internal surfaces of the Mixing Tanks. This then brings the requirement for the cleaning to be done under a Nitrogen blanket to stop any sparks being generated from a static discharge as well as cleaning head technology that is fully compliant with ATEX equipment requirements.
The best way to make sure a clean of the application is successful is 1, make sure the tank is cleaned before the product is starting to dry, 2) keep the cleaning heads out of the paint/product by use of a retractable system or to make sure dried product cannot jam/block the head.

In the Paper industry it is a matter of cleaning large White Water Storage Tanks, Pulpers, Pulp Tanks and Product Mixing Tanks etc of which can sometimes can be open topped, but all these applications can be cleaned with careful choice of cleaning head technology and mounting positions for the head.

There really is no requirement for anyone to enter a tank anymore to clean it, which has been a big step forward in Health and Safety for this industry.