Minimizing the environmental footprint in food production: A case study on the improvement of an industrial tank cleaning process through adaptive cleaning devices

Abstract

The potential of adaptive tank cleaning devices to reduce resource consumption of cleaning processes is quantified on the example of a dairy tank under production conditions. As methodological approach, a cleaning validation process was applied to obtain information on the resource consumption of the existing cleaning procedure as reference. An improved cleaning procedure with increased mechanical cleaning action was designed. It exploits the capabilities of motor‐driven jet cleaners to perform helical, zigzag, spiral and meander‐shaped nozzle movements. The nozzle movements were applied according to the location of cleaning‐critical area and the fouling deposit distribution. The configuration was supported by cleaning simulations. Both cleaning procedure were quantitatively compared. The adapted cleaning process reduced the cleaning time by 32 per cent without compromising the cleanling success. The volumetric flow rate was 55 l/min instead of 130 l/min and the energy requirement for cleaning was lowered by approx. 227,260 kJ per cleaning cycle.Practical applicationsReducing cleaning times, water consumption, and strengthening food safety are essential challenges for food production. The methodical approach for conducting a cleaning validation provides necessary information to systematically address priorities of optimization: (1) reduction of cleaning time, (2) reduction of water consumption, (3) reduction of energy consumption. The optical detection of cleaning‐critical area, fouling deposit distribution and the temporal cleaning process opens the possibility of monitoring the hygiene status and strengthening food safety.The use of adaptive, motor‐driven tank cleaning devices enables the targeted adjustment of cleaning intensity. This enables the targeted cleaning of hard‐to‐clean and easy‐to‐clean tank areas and may reduce resource consumption and cleaning time.