New KHS Vacuum CIP System for Cleaning Beverage Tanks

With a new KHS vacuum CIP system, cleaning of beverage tanks at medium temperatures of up to 50°C is even more efficient, faster, environmentally friendlier, and more flexible than ever. As in the past, a primary feed pump installed on the CIP frame in the new KHS vacuum CIP system pumps cleaning media, as well as fresh and batch water to the product tank to be cleaned. A special feature of the new solution: A vacuum system installed on the CIP frame is now used for returning the cleaning media instead of the usual cleaning media return pumps installed in the tank area.

A circulation pump always pumps the appropriate cleaning medium in a small, closed circuit as a propulsion jet through an injector. Using the resulting negative pressure, all of the cleaning fluid is returned from tanks and pipelines into the waiting CIP tanks. When using the traditional method, this was not as feasible because a certain amount of medium always had to remain in the tanks and pipelines to avoid damage to pumps in the storage tank area.

The new vacuum CIP solution virtually eliminates the usual mixing of media during media changeover and the resulting loss of cleaning agents. Thus, the new system design offers considerable savings potential when it comes to caustics and acids and a specific reduction in fresh water consumption. The flushing amounts needed in the past have now been reduced drastically while eliminating the necessity of leaving the system filled with water. Since no medium remains in product tanks and piping, there is less storage of cleaning media and water. Thus, the CIP tanks can now be designed for a significantly smaller capacity than has been possible in the past. The volume requirement – depending on the application – can be reduced by up to 50 percent compared to the traditional CIP solution. Besides the argument of lower tank costs, there are also the advantages of lower power consumption for heating media and the reduced space requirements of the CIP system. The speed at which the new vacuum CIP system works is significantly higher than the CIP solution traditionally used to clean storage tanks.