+31 314 373 333Integrated Clean-In-Place (CIP) and Sterilize-In-Place (SIP) solutions play a pivotal role in many processing industries where frequent and regular cleaning of equipment is required, such as the pharmaceuticals and food & beverage sectors.
Cleaning in place is vital in many production processes, and particularly in multi-purpose plants, to avoid contamination by foreign particles or cross-contamination between batches. Furthermore, CIP and SIP systems are essential in manufacturing processes that involve highly potent and toxic actives, in order to guarantee both operator and product safety and to protect the environment.
The automation of essential cleaning and disinfection processes saves time and money by eliminating time-consuming disassembly and reassembly work and speeding up product changeovers, thus reducing downtime. CIP and SIP systems also ensure reproducible hygiene standards. This facilitates validation and documentation in line with safety and hygiene management guidelines such as EHEDG.
CIP cleaning demonstration
Demonstration of a CIP cleaning process of a 2000 litre Nauta® conical screw mixer, designed for pharmaceutical processing:
Clean-In-Place (CIP)
The primary aim of cleaning in place is to minimize contamination of the equipment during processing by designing the hygienic concept right down to the smallest details. CIP systems enable the internal surfaces of systems to be cleaned with minimal disassembly or even none at all. The fully automatic CIP process eliminates all manual cleaning tasks and the cleaning operation is performed in line with a series of predefined steps, including process times and other parameters.
Alternatively, it is possible to set up a semi-automatic process, which includes some manual intervention. This is generally known as Wash-In-Place (WIP).
Sterilize-In-Place (SIP)
In the case of aseptic applications, a thorough SIP process is vital to ensure a sterile production environment. In many cases, saturated pure steam is used at high temperatures (> 121 °C) without an autoclave to destroy any microorganisms that could otherwise remain in the system.
Implementing CIP/SIP
The most effective way to implement CIP/SIP technology is to incorporate it into the production equipment at the design stage. At Hosokawa Micron, we offer an extensive range of technology that can be included in a CIP or SIP solution, ranging from spray systems and tank cleaners to nozzles and seals. We consider every aspect of your system when designing the optimal solution to automate the wet-cleaning process, from inlet to discharge. Besides that, the overall functionality can also be integrated in a complete functional system including configurable programs for water rinses, chemical washes, blowdown and air drying, sanitation (based on heat or chemicals), flow control, pressure, concentration and temperature.
