Assessment of the impact of nonstandard mechanical interactions in the clean-in-place cleaning process on the efficiency of removal of protein-fat deposits from equipment elements

Abstract

Since the introduction of the Clean-in-Place (CIP) method as the standard cleaning technique in the food industry, research has focused on improving this method to reduce electricity and water consumption while maintaining or enhancing cleaning efficiency. Previous studies indicate that the intensification of mechanical interactions in the cleaning process helps achieve these goals, simultaneously reducing cleaning time and the concentration of cleaning agents. This paper presents the results of studies examining the effects of cleaning a simple pipe section using a modified CIP procedure incorporating interactions such as bubbling, pulsation, and cavitation. The research was conducted with a laboratory-based two-tank cleaning station enhanced with the aforementioned systems to intensify mechanical interactions. It has been demonstrated that the incorporation of bubbling, pulsation, and ultrasound into the CIP procedure improves cleaning efficiency compared to the zero trial (standard procedure), while also enabling a reduction in cleaning time. The highest cleaning efficiency (about 96 % of removed deposit) was achieved with bubbling-enhanced cleaning, whereas the lowest (about 35 % of removed deposit) was observed with ultrasound-enhanced cleaning.