FOOD INDUSTRY/PHARMA
Pumps for the food industry have to follow several standards to satisfy different requirements:
Experts estimate cleaning time in the food and beverage industry to be as much as 30 percent. Thus, it is also understandable why the manufacturers attach great importance to a clean-friendly design (hygienic design). Many manufacturers therefore look for a 3-A or an EHEDG symbol.
Hygienic pumps are pumps that are constructed from materials that can be disinfected, cleaned and have dead zones removed to ensure that bacteria cannot accumulate in areas of the pump. The most common material used for hygienic pumps is 316 stainless steel which can be pressed or cast. This is polished to different qualities which determine the applications in which it can be used.
CIP – Clean in Place
For the most part, the CIP process is a fully automatic process to adhere to defined process times and parameters. The cleaning operation is performed in a series of defined steps, as this flowchart illustrates. Depending on the area of use, the cleaning temperatures are up to 100 °C. A turbulent flow is also required, with flow velocities usually between 1.5 and 3 m/s, to remove all impurities. The CIP cleanability of the measuring equipment is confirmed by the EHEDG certification
SIP – SIP – Sterilization-In-Place
The SIP process, also referred to as "Steam-In-Place", is an extension of the CIP process with an additional sterilization, without the need to dismantle the plant and measuring equipment1. The sterilization of hygiene-critical processes takes place at the end of the CIP process itself. This ensures that any microorganisms still active in the system are killed with hot water or with saturated clean steam at high temperatures (> 121 °C), without the use of an autoclave2
