9 Vessel Design Factors that Dramatically Affect CIP Performance

In the Industrial Revolution 4.0, we see too many quick changes in the industry trends that enhance performance outcomes. CIP systems have been in the market since the 1950s and have tremendously improved processing operations, eliminating the need to disassemble the vessel system for cleaning manually.

Implementing a CIP system in cleaning operations not only ensures effective cleaning while saving resources but also guarantees product safety and improves production efficiency.

Jetspray, one of the leading brands in the market, offers innovative solutions to give your tanks a good and deep clean. While you choose the best CIP cleaning systems, it is equally important to design the vessel to get the best results. In this blog, we discuss several best practices to help you create the best CIP-ready vessel for your operations.

What is CIP?

CIP refers to the Clean-In-Place system, which uses spray balls that are mounted through the top head of the vessel and are connected to the inlet lines. Water and cleaning solutions under high pressure are used to wash residual product off the inside top and inner vessel walls down through the discharge outlet. In this manner, the CIP cleaning systems effectively clean and sterilize the vessel for the upcoming batch without dismantling the equipment.

Jetspray’s spray balls cover a wide area inside the vessel. The most common spray patterns are 180 degrees up, 180 degrees down, and 360 degrees. While cleaning the system, this water pattern effectively reaches every fitting that extends through the top head of the vessel, holding several probes, sampling ports, and other processing and control fixtures that extend into the vessel.

9 Critical Factors Influencing Your CIP System’s Performance

In order to get the most out of your CIP cleaning system, cleanability and drainability should be considered from the initial stages of your design. Follow these guidelines for designing CIP capability into your processing vessel:

1. Use sufficient nozzle series for CIP sprayball fixtures: A sprayball inlet nozzle size of 1.5” guarantees adequate water flow and solution for cleaning. If the inlet size is too small, it may not carry enough volume and flow pressure to reach certain areas distant from the sprayball inside the vessel.

1. Minimize the sprayball numbers used in the vessel: While adding more sprayball nozzles may seem to be the most straightforward design approach for a better cleaning outcome, additional sprayballs need a higher flow volume of specialized water and cleaning solutions, which increases the processing costs. Therefore, it is better to optimize the smaller number of sprayballs to improve their individual performance.

1. Check if the special vessel features need any additional or customized sprayballs for better coverage: There might be a need to place additional or customised sprayballs to reach special vessel features, like a manway port in the top head of the vessel. In some vessel designs, you can also use sprayballs attached to each end of a specialized “T” fitting for extended coverage.

1. Position interior nozzles for ready sprayball access: The interior nozzles which are used for monitoring, access, sampling or control features must be grouped and positioned within the vessel for easy access by the “cone” created by the sprayball water jets. Minimizing the length and profile of every nozzle extending into the vessel is necessary. If the nozzle is longer, it is harder to clean.
2. Adjust sprayball water jets to reach the targeted areas: You can customise the number of holes to get extra water jet openings for reaching specific regions inside the vessel. Once additional holes are made in each sprayball, they can be custom pinned to its specific inlet nozzle and specially marked (“etched and pinned”) to place the sprayball for reproducible cleaning outcomes precisely.

1. Consider exterior piping requirements when designing sprayball placement: Sometimes, the configuration of the exterior process and inlet pipes on the vessel’s exterior may need the sprayball to be positioned in a specific area inside the vessel.

1. The Vessel drainage rates must be higher than the CIP flow rates: It is essential to maintain the vessel’s drain output capacity higher than its CIP inlet capacity to prevent pooling in the bottom of the tank during draining and avoid deposition of the unwanted rinse water or cleaning solution at the button of the vessel during the cleaning cycle.

1. Avoid “dead-legging” in nozzles, drains, and fixture placements: “Dead legging” is nothing but hidden spaces and gaps within the outlet drains, fittings and other vessel fixtures that are out of reach of sprayball coverage. Eliminate excess piping lengths and other gaps in the interior vessel fixtures to remove areas where unwanted products can accumulate during the vessel cleaning process.

1. Specify high finish grades for vessel interiors: The vessel’s finish is crucial to ensure thorough cleaning and draining during the CIP process. Usually, the vessels with an electropolished surface finish of 20 RA have the lowest surface tension, allowing water and cleaning solution to drain quickly from the vessel.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is paramount to incorporate the above guidelines while designing your next processing vessel to achieve the best balance between the CIP system’s performance, production rates, and processing costs. Establishing this intricate balance will help your company meet the stringent processing sanitation and product safety requirements. For more information or to solve your challenges, reach out at Jetspray.