Clean in Place (CIP) refers to using a mix of chemicals, heat and water to clean pipes without dismantling the plant. CIP has been around for about 50 years. Hygiene-critical industries, including food, beverage, biotechnology and pharmaceutical, use this process to clean plant lines. The process can be one shot, where everything goes to drain, or recovery, which recycles most of the liquid. Overall, CIP can be a very efficient way of cleaning.
Any industry and plant where hygiene is critical can use Clean in Place (CIP). The process is usually an integral part of established automation systems.
CIP is principally concerned with soil removal. Anything that should not be present in a clean vessel is considered “soil.” That brings about the phrase, ‘soiling the vessel.’ Soil can cause tainting and can often create an unpleasant odour. It may be visible (scale, foreign bodies) or invisible in the form of bacteria.
A CIP process of at least 15 minutes of a suitable chemical is required to remove vessel soiling. The CIP process should run between 50° Celsius and 75° Celsius.
