Focus on hygiene and uncompromising cleanliness is a top priority of manufacturers, and integrating CIP with process is one of the utmost needs of the industry. Alfa Laval is working on that front with their range of cleaning solutions to help manufacturers reach the highest cleaning efficiency, says Hemlata Joglekar, Manager, Business Unit, Hygienic Fluid Handling and Food & Water Division Channel Sales, Alfa Laval.

 

Tell us about the solutions you provide in the space of industrial cleaning.

There are three technologies to meet every need. The Alfa Laval static spray ball is the cleaning method of choice for low impact cleaning of water-soluble products. The Alfa Laval rotary spray head uses the rotary motion and physical impact of the cleaning media to remove sticky residues from the tank interior.

 

The Alfa Laval rotary jet head provides a high-impact jet stream in a three-dimensional cleaning pattern to clean tough residues. The result is a thoroughly clean tank using a fraction of the time, energy, water and cleaning chemicals required for other tank cleaning solutions. By choosing the right cleaning methods, we can help customers reduce the Cleaning-in-Place (CIP) time between production cycles. Although the static spray ball is the most widely used permanently installed tank cleaning device, there are measurable benefits to upgrading to dynamic tank cleaning, especially when the risk of contamination is high and hygiene is a critical factor.

 

According to you, how important is cleanliness in manufacturing?

Regular cleaning is critical to product integrity, productivity and profitability. With our broad range of cleaning solutions, we contribute to low total cost of ownership.

 

How are you helping companies to maintain cleanliness and hygiene while manufacturing?

With the help of three technologies for cleaning, we support customers to reduce water consumption, to reduce time and have impact in cleaning. 

 

We know that cleaning-in-place solutions are essential for the pharma, biotech and F&B industries. What advantages do these industries get with the help of CIP solutions?

Alfa Laval is a leading producer of components and solutions for over a century and have been working to ensure product quality and safety within dairy, food, beverage, pharma, personal care and biopharma applications.  Alfa Laval continues to expand its product portfolio and acquired American tank cleaning equipment company called Gamajet Cleaning Systems Inc – a leading provider of tank cleaning machines as well as self-contained and portable cleaning systems for industrial and sanitary applications.

 

Although the initial investment cost of a rotary jet head is higher than a static spray ball, the rotary jet head delivers substantial long-term savings that continue to accrue after realising full return on investment, which often occurs within less than a year.

 

Replacing static spray balls with rotary jet heads cut cleaning costs and cleaning time. A brewery, for instance, reduced cleaning costs of a bright beer tank by 77 per cent and cleaning time by 35 per cent (see graph). A pharmaceutical API manufacturer reduced tank cleaning costs by 88 per cent and cleaning time by 59 per cent. A dairy cream producer reduced tank cleaning costs by 83 per cent and cleaning time by 43 per cent. The examples are many and the opportunities for savings enormous.The dynamic movement and high impact force of the jets cut the costs associated with water, acid, caustic and disinfection by up to 70 per cent and cleaning time by 50 per cent. This leads to more production time and higher yields.

 

What is the future of CIP solutions in industrial cleaning?

Working with hygienic applications is a question of care, attention to detail and dedication to outstanding performance. Superior safety, gentle efficiency and uncompromising cleanliness while integrating CIP with process is the utmost need of manufacturers as it has impact on product integrity, productivity and profitability. Safety, sustainability and cost saving are important objectives for the industry and Alfa Laval provides optimised and cost effective solutions which facilitates cleaning with less water, less chemical and more uptime.