Before CIP systems, manual cleaning was the norm on food production plants. The disadvantages of this included the risk of exposure to potentially harmful chemicals for factory workers, imprecise and inconsistent cleaning and time-consuming, laborious processes.
Since the introduction of CIP, or clean-in-place systems, the cleaning process for entire food production plants has been simplified. The reduced labour was certainly an attractive prospect. However, this new process can still be improved further with knowledge of the best chemicals to use and how to adjust the design of your food production equipment for optimum cleaning.
This guide covers the most effective chemicals for CIP cycles.
Top types of chemicals used in CIP
Agents and chemicals help fulfil various cleaning functions in your vessels and pipes, including softening fats to make them easier to rinse away and removing scale. Discover some of the most commonly used chemicals for a range of cleaning purposes in the food and beverage industry.
Caustic chemicals
As alkalis with a high pH, caustic chemicals are the No. 1 detergent of choice for CIP cycles. Why? They’re non-foaming and provide an efficient, thorough clean, even with a concentration as low as 0.5%, although highly fouled surfaces may require a higher concentration of 4%. Caustic soda requires temperatures of up to 85 °C.
Nitric acid
For removing scale and calcified minerals, nitric acid is the ideal chemical. The benefit of using this acid is that it doesn’t require as hot a temperature as caustic chemicals to provide its cleaning function. In the food industry, milk producers often use this to remove milk scale.
Sanitisers
Sanitisers work as disinfectants. Containing bleach, they remove unwanted bacteria or viruses, making them ideal for milk and dairy producers. Due to the corrosive nature of bleach, it’s important to consider corrosion that could occur on your stainless steel vessels and pipes. There are also environmental considerations, as bleach that reaches waterways can harm aquatic life. That being said, bleach-based sanitisers are commonly used due to their affordability and effectiveness at targeting harmful bacteria.
Other potential options that are less corrosive than bleach include chlorine dioxide.
Sterilisers
For extended shelf-life food products, sterilisation can be required. This typically uses pressurised steam to kill off any living microorganisms.
Why S4?
S4 Engineering’s clean-in-place equipment is specially designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your cleaning with minimal consumption of chemicals, energy and water. We tailor all our equipment to suit your unique production requirements and consistently invest in research and development to ensure our systems operate at optimum efficiency.
We’ve worked with key producers in the UK, including Tim’s Dairy and Britvic, and are proud to be recommended by them! We also provide end-to-end solutions and an aftersales service to ensure minimal downtime and cost-efficient upgrades when you need them.
