Summary
When switching production lines from those producing products with special flavors to those producing bland flavors, it is necessary to conduct in-line cleaning and deodorization to prevent flavor cross-contamination.
The typical CIP deodorization cleaning method involves either a three-step hot cleaning or a four-step ambient temperature cleaning. These conventional cleaning methods usually take an average of 120 minutes. Trustwater has demonstrated through testing and validation that its innovative ECA cleaning technology can significantly reduce cleaning time. It can remove residual flavors in equipment during product changeovers in just 20 minutes. This helps factories increase production time and move towards a lean manufacturing model.
Background
This study selected a beverage plant in the United States. The plant has five carbonated beverage bottling facilities, including 16 syrup tanks, two canning lines, three PET lines, and one bagging line. The plant operates on a 24/7 basis. There are 800 to 900 line changes for irritant/sensitive products each year.
Approach
Initially, the deodorization effect of ECA technology was verified in the laboratory, and the test results showed very satisfactory deodorization performance. Based on this initial success, a simulated dynamic test bench was designed to simulate typical CIP cleaning conditions. Continuous testing was conducted on different cleaning times, end-user products, dry materials, and different bases. Eventually, Trustwater configured a new ECA system into the customer's CIP system, replacing the previous 120-minute CIP cleaning standard with a three-step shorter Trustwater ECA cleaning standard. The test results validated that the new Trustwater ECA deodorization technology can complete the deodorization cleaning in a total time of 20 minutes, meeting the line change requirements.