CIP cleaning
CIP cleaning (Clean In Place) is the automated cleaning of pipes, tanks and equipment without dismantling them.
Instead of taking pipes apart and cleaning tanks by hand, water, cleaning solutions and disinfectants are pumped through the installation in a set sequence. A typical cleaning cycle looks like this:
- pre-rinse with water, which removes most of the product residue,
- cleaning with an alkaline (caustic) solution, which removes organic soil such as fats and proteins,
- intermediate rinse with water,
- cleaning with an acid solution, which removes mineral deposits such as scale,
- final rinse and, if required, disinfection.
The entire process is controlled by automation. The CIP station prepares solutions at the right concentration, heats them to the right temperature and pumps them through the installation for a set time. The system monitors the parameters and records the course of every cleaning cycle.
CIP cleaning is repeatable, because every cycle runs the same way. It is also safer for workers, as they do not come into contact with hot, corrosive chemicals, and faster than manual cleaning. In many systems, cleaning solutions are recovered and reused, which reduces chemical and water consumption.
Example: A sweetened beverage plant starts CIP cleaning when production ends. The operator selects the cleaning programme for the line on the screen, and the system rinses the pipes and tanks with water, cleans them with hot caustic, rinses them, cleans them with an acid solution and rinses them again. When the cycle is complete, the system records that cleaning took place at the correct temperature, concentration and time, and the line is ready to produce the next beverage.