New solutions for increased line availability
KHS implements CleanCycle CIP concept and accelerated product change
Ludwig Clüsserath*Alfons Abels-Rümping**
Olaf Muszinski*** The efficiency of filling and packaging lines is an extremely important subject in the beverage industry. Lines must run and run and run - often in three-shift operation and with as little downtime as possible. KHS is continuously developing solutions to further increase line availability. The latest developments in this regard are the KHS CleanCycle CIP concept and the accelerated product changeover for the Innopro Paramix C – CSD dosing and blending system (Carbonated Soft Drinks filler). Both new developments contribute considerably to speeding up the processes and therefore to increased line productivity and significant cost reductions. Perfect cleaning - a must for every beverage company Cleaning of production systems using the Cleaning in Place (CIP) principle is a must for every beverage company in order to maintain the best possible hygiene conditions in the production area. CIP systems are always used where the line equipment comes into contact with the product. From the tank farm to the process area and to the filler. "A one-stop shop" is a much quoted motto within the beverage industry. Users are therefore keen to procure the CIP system together with the process and filling equipment from one manufacturer, as this completely avoids interface problems. As a turnkey supplier, KHS is able to accommodate this requirement by the customer for a "one-stop shop" as well as the demand for the latest technical solutions. The time between individual CIP operations depends on many different parameters. Among other things, the product characteristics, the standard of hygiene of the environment and the chosen CIP variant play a decisive role here. For example, CIP is carried out considerably more frequently when bottling juices or such sensitive beverages as spritzers, near-water products and still water than with high-percentage alcohols such as vodka. The planned order of filling of different products also plays a major role with regard to the necessary CIP times. So while intermediate rinsing of the filling and process equipment with water may be sufficient when changing from lemon soda to orange soda, for example, a complete CIP process must be carried out when changing from juice to still water. CleanCycle CIP concept: short CIP times with tip-top cleaning action While beverage companies which produce in single-shift operation usually carry out CIP cleaning - as long as circumstances allow it - directly after production, companies that work "around the clock" have to interrupt their production for the necessary CIP cleaning. As a result, CIP cleaning times mean a loss of production time and therefore a loss of product produced. The requirement here is CIP times which are as short as possible, while at the same time ensuring tip-top cleaning action. With KHS' newly developed CleanCycle CIP concept, this requirement can be made reality in exactly this way. Classic CIP process A CIP system generally has a caustic tank, an acid tank and a fresh water tank. The medium required for the CIP process is circulated by means of a pump through the units, which are usually connected in series. A plate heat exchanger heats the cleaning media and water. In the classic CIP process, after the units have been emptied and residues drained away, the system components to be cleaned are pre-rinsed with cold water. Classically, the system is then cleaned with hot caustic solution followed by intermediate rinsing with warm water, possibly acid cleaning and a hot water rinsing step and final rinsing with cold water. Here, all cleaning steps are carried out by feeding the media sequentially through a single pipe system. CleanCycle CIP concept Instead of being based on a pipe system which connects the components to be cleaned in series and feeds all media to them in a defined order, the CleanCycle CIP concept is based on a closed circuit for each medium. This means that the caustic, acid and water tanks each have their own circulation system with their own pump and, if necessary, a plate heat exchanger. The individual units to be cleaned - for example, mixer and filler - can be supplied with the correct cleaning medium in the quickest way and at the right time by means of these separate circuits. Waiting times resulting from the different sequences of cleaning steps in the individual units are no longer necessary. This reduces mixing phases to a minimum. This not only results in savings of water and cleaning media, but also in reduced energy consumption and less waste water to be disposed of. Another important factor is that, here, cleaning media can be prepared separately from one another and are available for use as required in the necessary concentration and at a pre-specified temperature. Significant reduction in CIP cycle thanks to a CIP closed circuit for each medium In addition - and this is a decisive aspect which significantly extends production times - the CIP cycle is shortened as there are now several circulation options which can be used at the same time instead of just one. Cleaning processes can also overlap one another. For example, the filler can be cleaned with caustic solution while the flash pasteurizer is already being cleaned with acid. Or complete cleaning of individual parts of the system can be carried out at different times. It is therefore possible, for example, for the filler to continue producing while the blender or the flash pasteurizer are shut down and cleaned. Or - if the CIP system is intended for cleaning several lines - cleaning of one line can be completed while cleaning of the next line is started. The possibilities here are manifold. KHS provides advice on optimizing the software, in particular to save time and conserve resources. Another major advantage is that individual media circuits can be connected to one another, where expedient, by means of a valve matrix (compact and easy-to-maintain multi-way valves are used here). This provides further potential savings of cleaning media, water and energy. An example of this is that if, when caustic is being discharged, the conductivity meter confirms that the water tank closed circuit contains a mixed phase of caustic which can still be used within the caustic tank, this can be fed to the caustic tank by appropriate return switching. This saves both caustic solution and energy. Latest cleaning media and the application of innovative cleaning philosophies In the CleanCycle CIP concept, as a further important aspect, the components of the optimized process equipment with one CIP closed circuit for each medium are complemented by the use of the latest cleaning media and the application of innovative cleaning philosophies. This leads to further savings of time, water, cleaning media and energy. The combination of both aspects allows pre-rinsing before cleaning with caustic solution to be dispensed with in numerous applications of the CleanCycle CIP concept. The KHS units to be cleaned (filler, flash pasteurizer and mixer) are designed for this purpose in accordance with Hygienic Design rules and in such a way that they can be properly drained immediately after the end of production thanks to appropriately designed slopes. The desired cleaning results are achieved ever more quickly thanks to the consistent implementation of Hygienic Design in all paths carrying product and process gas. This enables the application times of the individual cleaning steps to be significantly reduced. Caustic cleaning is finally carried out either at a caustic temperature of 40° Celsius - assuming that the caustic is provided with an activator (CleanCycle cold CIP concept) - or classically at a caustic temperature of 85°C (CleanCycle hot CIP concept). When using the CleanCycle CIP concept, intermediate rinsing and subsequent acid cleaning are only carried out on every tenth or twentieth CIP operation, for example, depending on the product filled. The final rinsing phase is significantly shortened compared with the classical CIP process; water enriched with chlorine dioxide is used here for this purpose. Dosing with chlorine dioxide prevents recontamination of the freshly cleaned system taking into account statutory limits. Additional investment soon pays off The savings which can be achieved by using the CleanCycle CIP concept are altogether considerable. As an example, a system with a filling capacity of 30,000 1-liter glass bottles/h works in three-shift operation and is CIP-cleaned once a week. If the cleaning costs per bottle filled when using the classical single-strand CIP system are 100%, then, taking into account media savings and including the production time that has been gained, the cleaning costs per bottle filled for the CleanCycle CIP concept are reduced as follows:
• CleanCycle hot CIP concept by 50%
• CleanCycle cold CIP concept by 55%.
An altogether considerable saving compared with the classical CIP concept. The increased investment costs, which amount to approx. 100,000 euros with only one CIP cleaning per week, are therefore amortized in approx. 21 months for the CleanCycle hot CIP concept and in approx. 19 months for the CleanCycle cold CIP concept. If two CIP cleaning operations are carried out per week, the amortization time is halved to approximately 10.5/9.5 months. If more CIP cleaning is carried out weekly, the costs are amortized correspondingly sooner. What is more, when the time for which a filling system is used is taken into account, consistent use of the CleanCycle CIP concept saves "hard cash" time and time again. For the case in the example (system with a filling capacity of 30,000 1-liter glass bottles/h), the cost savings when using the CleanCycle hot CIP concept for two CIP applications a week are just under 120,000 euros per year, and when using the CleanCycle cold CIP concept are about 130,000 euros per year. If we assume five CIP processes per week, around 300,000 euros per year can be saved by using the CleanCycle hot CIP concept, and approx. 330,000 euros per year by using the CleanCycle cold CIP concept. Amounts which add up over the period of use. At the same time, the CleanCycle CIP concept increases the environmental friendliness of the equipment used. Fast product changeover requires automation and faultless signal exchange Increased system productivity and significant cost reductions - advantages which are offered by the fast product changeover feature newly developed by KHS for the Innopro Paramix C – CSD filler (Carbonated Soft Drinks filler). The Innopro Paramix C is a three-component dosing and blending system which, if need be, can also be expanded by a fourth or fifth dosing component. The system continuously produces still and carbonated beverages as required. The first step in the Innopro Paramix C involves deaerating water using the two-stage, horizontal vacuum spraying principle. The deaerated water is passed to the mixing pump where it is blended with syrup. The Innopro Paramix C offers standard syrup-to-water blending ratios of 1:3 and 1:9. An extended blending range of 1:1 to 1:10 can also be implemented as an option. The dosing consistency for syrup is particularly high at 0.01° Brix for 1 Sigma and 0.03° Brix for 3 Sigma. After the syrup and water have been blended, the Innopro Paramix C finally carries out the carbonation process. A prerequisite for the new KHS fast product changeover option is that both the Innopro Paramix C and the filler valve manifolds are automated. Also - if fast product changeover is to be carried out - both the filler and the dosing and blending system must come from KHS. Only in this way is it possible to regard the Innopro Paramix C and the KHS filling system as one technical process unit, to organize the programming and control systems accordingly, and to achieve a faultless signal exchange between the dosing and blending system and the filler. Half the number of individual steps compared with the standard product changeover Previously, approximately 40 individual steps have been necessary for a standard product changeover - including time-consuming measures such as manual repositioning of bends and manual draining of individual units. With the fast product changeover system, which includes a fully automated process, only 20 individual steps are required, and these are carried out automatically. This results in a time saving of approx. 15 minutes per product changeover. Other advantages which automation offers are that the burden on the operators is reduced and there is absolutely no risk of operator errors. Process automation and monitoring provide the highest level of product and process safety. Clear surplus thanks to production hours gained If we assume that five product changeovers are carried out on a filling line each week, with an assumed 250 production days/year, this results in an increase of 63 production hours by implementing the fast product changeover alone. If we assume 25 product changeovers per week - which is entirely conceivable when a wide range of beverages is involved - we arrive at an increase of 313 production hours per year. Practical experience has confirmed that each extra hour of production generates about 500 euros surplus. A surplus which, with an assumed 63 or 330 additional production hours, provides a considerable yield of 31,500 euros/year and 156,500 euros/year respectively. Minimized syrup losses a further plus point As well as a significant increase in production time, a fast product changeover also has the advantage of minimized syrup losses. About 3 to 5 liters of syrup are saved each time with the fast product changeover compared with the conventional process. With five product changeovers per week, this results in an annual saving of 1,250 liters of syrup, and with 25 product changeovers per week, an annual saving of 6,250 liters of syrup. Available for new investments and for retrofitting To sum up: Both the new KHS CleanCycle CIP concept and the fast product changeover for the Paramix C – CSD filler contribute to significantly increased production times, and therefore improve the profitability of a filling and packaging line. Both options can be integrated into new technical systems or be retrofitted. It is therefore also possible to increase the system efficiency of existing equipment quite significantly by additional investment, thus achieving a surplus and ultimately specifically increasing competitiveness. * Development Manager, Filling and Process Equipment, KHS GmbH,
Bad Kreuznach, Phone: +49 (671) 852-2501
** Product Management, Process Technology Competence Center,
KHS GmbH, Bad Kreuznach, Phone: +49 (671) 852-2211
*** Manager, Process Technology/Enclosures/Layout, KHS GmbH, Bad
Kreuznach, Phone: +49 (671) 852-2704