Clean in Place System

In today’s era of food production, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, it’s crucial that process equipment is cleaned with precision. CIP is the latest technology for cleaning production equipment in place without disassembly, saving time and money.

What is Clean in Place?

Clean​‍​‌‍​‍‌ in place (CIP) is an automated cleaning method that removes residues from the internal surfaces of process equipment, pipelines and tanks without being disassembled. CIP guarantees the microbiological safety of the final product, preventing contamination and ensuring strict sanitary and hygiene standards for all food-contact areas and equipment surfaces.

Its principle of operation is based on the circulation of cleaning fluids throughout the entire processing equipment under automated control. This allows the equipment to be cleaned thoroughly, even in hard-to-reach areas where manual cleaning would be impossible or very difficult.

Benefits of CIP Systems

• Time and Resource Saving

Manual cleaning requires extended production shutdowns, equipment disassembly and significant labor costs. Cleaning in Place minimizes downtime — a typical CIP cycle takes from 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the system complexity.

• Better​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Cleaning

The automated system is a means to achieve consistent results and removes the possibility of mistakes made by humans. Every sanitizing cycle follows a preset algorithm with variables such as temperature, chemical concentration, and contact time carefully controlled, ensuring reproducible cleaning results.

• Staff Safety

Clean-in-place technology minimizes worker exposure to aggressive chemicals and eliminates the need to work in confined spaces of tanks, reducing occupational risks.

Industry Applications

Food Industry

In dairy industry CIP cleaning is the norm. Dairies sanitize after each production shift and sometimes more frequently. Cleaning pasteurizers, separators and starter lines is critical as even minimal product residues can develop pathogenic microflora.

Breweries and beverage manufacturers use multi stage CIP processes to clean boiling kettles, fermentation tanks and filling lines. Beerstone and yeast deposits are a particular concern. CIP also improves beverage operations by ensuring safe and effective cleaning.

In meat processing CIP systems are used to sanitize sausage stuffers, grinders and mixers to ensure microbiological safety of the final product.

Medicine Production

Pharmaceutical industry has the highest cleanliness requirements. CIP systems here must comply with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards and provide validated cleaning. Sanitizing cleaning of reactors used for synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients is critical as even trace amounts of previous product can cause cross contamination. Biopharmaceutical processes benefit from precise CIP cleaning and cleaning validation.

Pharmaceutical cleaning systems are often followed by a final rinse with water for injection and steam sterilization to achieve absolute microbiological purity.

Biotechnology

In bioreactors for cell and microorganism culture, CIP cleaning is complemented by sterilization procedures. After sanitizing cleaning the equipment is subjected to steam autoclaving at 121°C or chemical sterilization with hydrogen peroxide.

CIP Systems

There are several types of CIP systems:

• Single-circuit systems are the simplest option for small production facilities where a single cip system serves a single process line.
• Multi-circuit systems are more complex units that can sanitize several independent processing equipment at the same time.
• Recuperation systems are cost effective solutions that allow reuse systems to reduce water and chemical consumption by up to 40%.

System type	Advantages	Applications
Single-loop	Simplicity, low cost	Small-scale production, bakeries
Multi-loop	High productivity	Large dairy plants
With recovery	Up to 40% resource savings	Breweries, beverage production
Mobile	Flexibility, versatility	Seasonal production

How does CIP Work?

The CIP cleaning process is a fully automated cleaning method that allows CIP of production equipment without disassembling. This is especially useful in food industry as the process relies on cleaning procedures and cleaning agents to clean the process equipment. The CIP process involves controlled circulation through piping systems and associated fittings.

The effectiveness of cleaning depends on using the correct amount of chemicals and ensuring the system is properly set up to run automatically, including the use of dynamic spray devices, spray balls, and flow meters to monitor flow rate. Here is a simple step-by-step explanation of how it works:

Stage	Temperature	Duration	Purpose
Pre-rinse	40–60°C	5–10 min	Remove product residues during the pre-rinse using rinsing water
Alkaline wash	75–85°C	15–30 min	Dissolve organic matter with caustic solutions
Intermediate rinse	20–40°C	5–7 min	Neutralize pH using intermediate rinse
Acid wash	65–75°C	10–20 min	Remove mineral deposits with cleaning agent
Final rinse	20–40°C	5–10 min	Remove cleaning solutions
Sanitization	85–95°C	5–15 min	Disinfection using UV lamps or chemical agents

Description of sanitizing cleaning stages:

1. Pre-rinse — remove the bulk of the product with water at 40-60°C, up to 95% of residue removed.
2. Alkaline cleaning — circulate caustic solutions (1-2% concentration) at 75-85°C to dissolve fats and proteins.
3. Intermediate rinse — remove alkaline solution with clean water until pH is neutral.
4. Acid cleaning — treatment with nitric or phosphoric acid (0.5-1.5% concentration) to remove mineral deposits.
5. Final rinse — flush the system with rinsing water until all detergents are removed.
6. Sanitizing treatment — final disinfection to achieve microbiological purity.

The entire cycle is automated, no manual intervention required. This is what makes CIP cleaning so effective and consistent. By automating the process industries can maintain high cleanliness standards even with complex systems that would otherwise need to be disassembled and cleaned manually. Automated monitoring of energy consumption and compressed air use is also possible in modern CIP.

CIP: Optimization and Efficiency

CIP quality is determined by four key factors, known as the Zinner Circle:

• Chemical factor — type and chemical concentration of cleaning agents. Alkaline solutions for organic matter, acidic solutions for mineral deposits.
• Temperature factor — increase in temperature accelerates chemical reactions. Every 10°C increase in temperature doubles the cleaning efficiency.
• Mechanical factor — flow velocity and turbulence. For effective CIP cleaning a Reynolds number above 4000 (turbulent regime) is necessary. Dynamic spray devices and spray balls help to achieve this.
• Time factor — contact time with cleaning solution. Minimum contact time depends on the type of contamination and ranges from 10 to 30 minutes.

Optimization is about balancing these factors — enhancing one reduces the demands on others, conserving resources and energy.

Innovations and the Future of Technology

Intelligent Systems

Modern systems are Industry 4.0 compliant. Artificial intelligence analyzes data from thousands of CIP cleaning cycles and optimizes parameters for each specific contaminant, minimizing cleaning chemicals and water usage.

Predictive analytics allows forecasting of maintenance needs for process equipment, preventing unplanned shutdowns and ensuring personnel safety.

Environmental Aspects

New CIP is about sustainability:

• Closed-loop water systems reduce water quality usage by 80%.
• Biodegradable enzyme-based cleaning agents.
• Heat recovery from hot cleaning solutions to preheat incoming water.
• Ultrasonic and ozone sanitization, reducing the need for harsh cleaning chemicals.

Compact Solutions

Modular container-based CIP systems for small and medium-sized businesses. Ready-to-use units for easy implementation of automated CIP cleaning in processing industries.

CIP Requirements and Standards

Regulatory Framework

CIP is governed by many national and international standards:

Standard	Region	Application area
3-A Sanitary Standards	USA	Dairy industry, equipment design
EHEDG Guidelines	Europe	Hygienic equipment design
FDA CFR Part 110	USA	Food production sanitation
ISO 22000	International	Food safety management systems
cGMP	USA	Pharmaceutical manufacturing
USDA Standards	USA	Meat processing

Key requirements of CIP equipment standards:

• Sanitary materials (AISI 316L stainless steel).
• Minimize dead zones and hard-to-reach area.
• Complete drainage of all pipelines.
• Automatic documentation of all cleaning parameters.
• Regular validation of sanitizing cleaning.
• Microbiological cleanliness requirements.

CIP Process Validation

Validation includes three stages:

• Installation Qualification (IQ) — this is a check to make sure the CIP system is installed correctly and matches all design documents.
• Operational Qualification (OQ) — this is testing to see if the CIP system works as it should and reaches the required cleaning and sanitizing levels.
• Performance Qualification (PQ) — cleaning efficiency and effectiveness under production conditions, including microbiological control of food contact surfaces and stainless steel surfaces. The validated method becomes the company’s standard operating procedure.

Challenges of CIP

While CIP has many advantages, there are also some challenges. Here are a few things to remember:

• High Initial Investment: A CIP system can be expensive to buy and install, especially for small businesses. You must pay for the equipment and for adding it to your production line.
• Ongoing Maintenance: CIP systems need regular checks and maintenance to work correctly. This takes time and money and increases everyday costs.
• Chemical Waste Management: After cleaning, the chemicals must be thrown away safely and according to environmental rules. This makes the process more difficult and requires attention.
• System Downtime: CIP systems help reduce cleaning time, but problems can still happen. If something is installed wrong or breaks, cleaning may take longer or production may stop.

Best Practices for CIP

To optimize cleaning in place:

• Regular Audits: Check CIP systems to ensure they meet hygiene and cleaning requirements.
• Proper Chemical Selection: Choose cleaning agents for the type of food particles or contaminants.
• Employee Training: Understand manual cleaning methods and automated CIP operation.
• Data-Driven Optimization: Monitor cip cleaning cycles, cleaning efficiency and chemical concentration in real-time.

In industries where cleanliness is key CIP is here to stay. Clean in place systems have become an essential tool for food and beverage, pharmaceutical, dairy and other industries to maintain hygiene standards. Proper cleaning techniques for stainless steel surfaces eg caustic and acid washes are crucial to prevent corrosion and remove residues and microorganisms. As technology advances CIP cleaning will get smarter, more sustainable and cost effective, safer and better quality products.

Being CIP-compliant and up to date with industry trends will help you stay ahead of the competition and maintain high cleanliness and operational excellence for years to come.

FAQ