Keeping your brewery clean | Cleaning in Place

The brewing industry, like any other, has developed, advanced and transformed in its lifetime. And, the way breweries maintain and clean their equipment is no different. Rewind 60 or so years and the term Cleaning in place (CIP) was not the everyday term it is now.

To clean the process kit that is so integral to your brewery, you’d need to take apart said equipment and do it manually. Thankfully those days are long gone, though. Nowadays, it is possible to clean the interiors of your vessels, tanks and pipes in a variety of means, and often without the manual element, too.

“The management of CIP is in principle no different to that for open plant cleaning. With open plant cleaning certain tools such as brushes, detergent and hose are used manually by hygiene operatives to clean a surface. With CIP the tools and the operative are replaced by the CIP set,” explains Peter Thorman, UK sales manager for brewery and beverage at Holchem.

“The advantage with CIP is that once a clean has been validated for a given aspect of the process plant, (soil and cleaning parameters) it is easy to repeat that process, with verification checks in place, and therefore ensure a sufficient clean (i.e. as validated originally). The disadvantage is that to ensure that same clean is carried out by the CIP set there are a number of process and maintenance procedures or checks that need to be carried out.”

According to Thorman, a clean is considered effective when all surfaces achieve the desired level of cleanliness; both physical (debris, allergen, chemical) and microbiological. Validation involves showing that the defined cleaning sequence and associated parameters achieve the desired cleaning result for a given set of soiling conditions.

Cleaning sequence

Once a cleaning sequence has been validated as being effective repeating the sequence should always achieve the required result. Validation is used for the original commissioning of a proposed cleaning methodology and then when process or product changes are made.

He adds: “Demonstration of cleaning sequence and parameters is required irrespective of the type of CIP system.

“When dealing with manual or semi-automatic systems, control of the clean relies on the operating procedure being followed, a record of the cleaning sequence and parameters being made and a check that the cleaning sequence and parameters were the same as those when validation was carried out.

“For automated systems, flow rate, conductivity and temperature can be monitored on the CIP feed and/or on the CIP return. The purpose of the monitoring is to provide reliable information to allow control of the cleaning sequence and recording of the cleaning sequence.”

Thorman adds that if monitoring on the feed, then as a minimum a flow rate switch must be incorporated on the return to ensure that the circuit is complete. Control of the cleaning sequence is often automated and usually performed by a plc.

The plc programme may provide instruction only and not interact with feedback from the sensors. In this case the record of the cleaning sequence and parameters needs to be assessed and verified for each clean to ensure that it meets the minimum criteria set during validation.

The plc programme may interact with feedback from the sensors. In this case the programme can be designed to ensure that the cleaning sequence and parameters are met. Deviation from the cleaning sequence and parameters can put the system on hold until these are met or abort the clean as failed.

Verification of cleaning, Thorman says, can be carried out by rapid methods that provide sufficient information to decide on whether a re-clean is required. These include rinse water ATP, protein or specific allergen tests from specialised swab points and a manual visual inspection.

“Verification of the cleaning performance can also be assessed by traditional microbiological methods, with the testing of final rinse waters and sampling of 1st off product,” he says. “It is possible to verify via the microbiological sampling of a synthetic process sample. For instance a buffered saline solution can be passed through a process, such as cooking, cooling and filling. This can then be sampled and used as measure of the cleanliness of the plant.”

According to Holchem, planned maintenance and inspection schedules should be based on manufacturer’s guidance. These maintenance checks should include a variety of factors to deliver the most optimal cleaning regime. Tank level sensing devices and proximity switches should, if applicable, be checked regularly, as should any spray devices.

As part of regular inspections, it is important to undertake the calibration of instruments. These will include instruments such as temperature probes, flow meters, flow switches and conductivity probes.

Thorman says: “Checking both the condition of any alarm which is included within the CIP machinery being used is also business critical, as well as looking for any pump and union wear and keeping on top of the replacement of seals.

“If your system includes a heat exchanger it may need regularly descaling. Back-up software should also be checked as part of any planned maintenance, making sure that this is in place and up to date in case it is needed. Replacement of air, water or steam filters is a key part of maintenance.”

Brewery washing program

According to Ecolab, whether producing a few thousand barrels of craft beer or millions of barrels a year, breweries face the same three main challenges: offer the best flavour; manage resources to save water and energy; and optimise operations.

When it comes to taste, the requirements are evident – keep the product safe while preserving the flavours. Each beer has to offer to consumers the perfect sip. Quality is not to be taken lightly and breweries have to invest to ensure the quality production of their unique taste. Cleaning and washing must complement that process. The chemistry that allows the malt to develop that sour, yet delicious taste also has to keep the bottle clean and safe.

“To that end, Clean-in-Place (CIP) processes have to be established to meet the industry sanitation standards. Although they are of the highest importance, they can burden a brewer who needs to dedicate time and energy to monitor the CIP performance manually. The lack of compliance with CIP can result in product contamination, production downtime and resource waste,” explains Sam De Boo, senior vice president and general manager for Ecolab’s Food & Beverage division in Europe.

He adds: “While keeping the premises clean is important, this isn’t necessarily a brewer’s number one priority. New technologies like AI and big data solutions have been designed to automate the cleaning process and make it more reliable.

“Ecolab has developed innovative programs with predictive capabilities to support and optimize operations for beer companies. Developed for medium and large breweries, 3D Trasar CIP is a diagnostic tool that uses sensors to verify every CIP wash and helps identify opportunities to improve the brewery’s CIP efficiency.”

Recently, the company launched EcoAdd, a new metering pump series, and EcoApp, a connected smartphone application. The system helps reduce risk of material contamination and monitors maintenance intervals. The idea is to provide the brewer peace of mind through monitoring and remote-control technology.

De Boo explains: “With confidence that cleanliness and sanitisation are under control, the priority on a brewer’s list is resource management. As water scarcity is becoming is rising concern for businesses around the world, more and more breweries are rethinking operations to be more water-efficient and setting ambitious water goals.

“With the right partner to help perfect its craft, breweries can save water and energy as well as optimising operations. Ecolab’s aim is to do more with less and that can be achieved in collaboration with breweries, big and small. By helping these customers do more with less, we reduce the impact on the environment by using fewer resources.

“A variety of programs can be implemented to achieve ambitious water and energy conservation targets. From  eliminating a majority of the water needed for conveyor lubrication, to implementing Ecolab’s Water Risk Monetizer, to understanding the impact of water scarcity on their operations and quantifying those risks in financial terms, we provide sustainable solutions to breweries.”

Know your role

For Christine Daues at Mueller, Clean-in-place (CIP) systems are an important component of every cleaning program and as there are a lot of parts to a successful CIP program, it’s important to start at the beginning.

She explains: “Clean-in-place has become the industry standard method for cleaning because it eliminates a majority of the human error element, saves you money on chemicals, and reduces your exposure to harmful chemicals.

““Manual cleaning comes with the risk that you might miss some spots or cross contaminate your scrubbing brush between steps. These mistakes can result in spoiled beer. It also saves money on chemicals. “With a recovery type CIP system, you have the ability to use a batch of chemicals several times which will save you money in the long run. Finally, it reduces exposure to harmful chemicals: Modern CIP systems are self-contained and automated which limit your exposure to harmful cleaning chemicals.”

Clean-in-place systems use several holding tanks to store their chemical solutions. The chemicals are pumped out of the storage tanks and into the tanks you are cleaning. Typically, a spray ball is used within the tank to coat all the interior surfaces with the chemicals. The chemicals that are used to clean the tank are pumped back out and into the CIP storage tank to be used several more times before being replaced.

Vacuum relief is just as important to your bright tanks and fermenters as CIP is to your beer, explains Daues. To protect your tank from vacuum failure you can open the racking valve while you CIP.  It is also important to make sure your vacuum relief valve is large enough for your tank and that it is working correctly.  It doesn’t matter how big of a vacuum relief valve you have if it is seized up from improper maintenance.

Cleaning and sanitising

Ensuring the absolute cleanliness of all equipment and components, especially those parts that come into contact with the food product, is a prerequisite for the production of beverages,” stresses Ales Jakimov, managing director, designer and developer, co-owner of Czech Minibreweries. “The cleaning and sanitation of all production facilities is also of great importance in breweries. During the beer production process there is a high risk of food infestation, especially during the beer fermentation and beer conditioning processes where intensive activity of brewing yeast is taking place.”

The most common way of cleaning and sanitising equipment in breweries is the CIP process, he adds. All devices are cleaned where they are installed and operated, using mobile or static CIP stations and connecting hoses or pipelines. Diluted acids, alkalis and water are used as sanitising solutions.

European business, the Czech Brewery Systém (CBS) has a production plant in the Czech Republic is a traditional manufacturer of CIP stations. CBS mobile and static CIP stations are used in dozens of breweries across Europe.

The strength of CIP stations from the CBS  is a simplicity and robust construction that can withstand daily use and ensures long life and ease service. Their production portfolio consists of two types of CIP stations.

Mobile CIP stations. These mobile CIP stations are designed for easy access to the cleaned equipment and are equipped with a base frame with running wheels, pump, electric heating, electric switchboard with simple pump and heating control, manual valve piping system and one, two or three containers for sanitising solutions. The offer consists of mobile CIP stations with a capacity of 50 L, 100L and 200L.

Static CIP stations. Static CIP stations, permanently installed at a single location in the brewery, are equipped with a pump, electric or steam heating, electric switchboard with manual or fully automatic control of all valves, pump and heating, pipe system with manual or pneumatic valves and three or four containers for sanitary solutions and water. The offer consists of static CIP stations with container volumes of 500 L, 1000L and 2000L.

Process efficiency

The importance of ‘cleaning in place’ (CIP) operations throughout the brewing industry is well understood – as a means of helping to meet the highest levels of both production hygiene and process efficiency,” says Lanemark director Jeff Foster. “CIP invariably centres on the efficient supply of heated solution – typically a caustic solution and rinse water – being made available wherever equipment cleaning needs to be undertaken on a site.”

He adds: “Whether the requirement is ongoing or scheduled at the end of a particular brewing operation, solutions need to be available at an optimum temperature and pressure which, in most installations, is achieved via heated tanks being connected by pipework to a series of local access points.  Our burner systems play a key role in this context by minimising tank heat-up times and achieving level temperature consistency – typically 80°C.”

Each Lanemark tank installation comprises a burner that fires through a tank wall into a submerged, small diameter, multi-pass tube arrangement.  A fan at the far end of the tube creates suction that pulls the products of combustion through the system to create an even heat distribution, with a target of 80 percent efficiency regularly achieved – markedly more cost effective than that which can be delivered by a centralised steam boiler alternative.

“After piping, the solutions are then manually delivered at precise locations where the CIP operations are to be undertaken,” adds Foster.   

All componentry – from burner housing and exhaust control damper, to control panel and gas valve train pipework – is fabricated from stainless steel.

With Lanemark’s point-of-use heating designs, the organisation, today, can highlight the benefits for CIP installations both in the UK and further afield.  In all cases, the twin goals of minimising energy usage while optimising operational efficiency are readily achieved.

“Without adequate CIP operations, many in the brewing and bottling sector would not be able to function efficiently. The ongoing aim is to deliver the best possible design and the highest level of consistency and reliability. We are delighted that companies in this specialised sector are now gaining from our experience and our approach to this important requirement,” concludes Foster. 


 

The Core Pillars of Brewery Hygiene

To brew a good beer consistently well, a brewery must be kept scrupulously clean. It is said that brewery cleanliness is next to godliness but whatever your faith, paying attention to the detail in brewery hygiene will ensure you not only brew top quality beer, but that your equipment works properly and provides many years of service, as intended.

The brewing process generates much organic soil, some of it quite sticky, leaving residues on all surfaces. Simple water rinsing will remove much of the waste, but a good caustic clean between 0.5 – 1.5% must follow while the equipment is still wet. In hard water areas, this caustic needs to be sequestered to aid soil removal and loss of causticity caused by high carbonate levels.

A rule of thumb is use hot, then clean hot and vice versa, use cold then clean cold; this maxim is good for the vast majority of areas although for when cleaning casks, it can pay to clean hot to remove stubborn stains and ensure sterility, too. Having a robust regime for cleaning your casks is all the more important during hot weather.

In plants where carbon dioxide is present, for instance fermenters, storage and bright beer tanks, some breweries use an acid cleaning agent to prevent loss of caustic into the CO2 atmosphere. Nitric and phosphoric acid blends are commonly used at 1-2 percent strength to clean yeast rings and staining caused by tannic acid deposition from hops.

Acid cleans are also recommended for periodic use following a caustic clean, particularly where the stainless steel used in the material construction is less than AIS 316 grade. The surface needs passivating to re-establish the inert oxide layer.

A third more recent option is to use enzymes to clean. This is not new, they have been used in biological washing powders for many years to great effect and can remove highly stubborn stains. They are now seeing use in breweries where the use of caustic causes issues with effluent discharge, e.g. in rural situations and are safer for operators to handle.

Following the detergent cleans, whether acid or alkali, the plant will need to be sanitised. Various chemical agents are available, the choice open to the brewer is fairly wide but should be made based according to efficiency, cost, regulatory and health and safety guidelines.

The most popular choices are chlorine based. These are used throughout the food and beverage industry and work on the principle of shattering the cell walls of microbes. A similar highly effective agent is peracetic acid which does the same thing, but is more unstable than chlorine so not as effective as a residual steriliser.

Where longer periods of sterility are required, for example soak baths used for storing flexible pipes and other small items of brewing equipment that come into contact regularly with beer, an amphoteric biocide can be used. These are pH neutral sterilants designed to retain their killing action in water for several days before requiring refreshing.

Heat is still one of the best ways to ensure sterility and of course is well known in its use in pasteurisation. Steam cleaning of casks is most effective if it can be guaranteed that the temperature can be raised high enough throughout the whole cask.

Steam is a highly effective medium due to its searching powers through pipework and those breweries with steam generation ability often use it where they cannot be sure a chemical solution will work. It is highly damaging though and care must be exercised that rubber and pump seals are robust enough to withstand it.

By Nick Brading, Technical Sales Representative, Murphy & Son

 

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