Central States Industrial’s TrueClean CIP’able air-blowing check valve allows the yogurt producer to save hours of downtime and many pounds of product each week, with an estimated annual savings of $350,000.
Process downtime can cause huge losses. Almost 80% of facilities cannot accurately estimate their downtime, and frequently tried facilities underestimate their total downtime cost (TDC) by 200-300%. A processor that seriously reduces the TDC may gain a huge return on investment by improving the process.
Noosa Yoghurt is located in a small farming community 70 miles north of Denver, and has grown rapidly in the nine years since it was sold at the local farmer’s market and distributed nationwide. With this rapid growth, production needs to be increased to meet demand, and new methods need to be found to reduce the downtime of system cleaning, while maintaining hygienic standards and increasing product recycling rates.
Noosa tries to improve the process and reduce TDC in three main areas. First, the fruit pipeline after each fruit flavor must be cleaned in a 40-minute conversion process, which is repeated 12-13 times a week. In addition to the TDC used for the cleaning-in-place (CIP) process, Noosa lost approximately 15.5 pounds of product during each cleaning cycle—a total loss of more than 200 pounds of product per week. Second, Noosa loses 115 pounds of product every time the honey recirculation pipeline is cleaned, for a total loss of 345 lbs per week. Finally, depending on the specific product formula running on the mixing skid, Noosa will lose an additional 65-95 pounds of product during the cleaning process each week.
The TrueClean blow check valve is installed on the fruit production line. In addition to the loss of products from Central Industries, Noosa also uses water and chemical rinses to supply electricity through the production line containing the products. All in all, Noosa realizes the potential to save thousands of dollars per month through better product recycling and system cleaning.
One way that Noosa hopes to improve the evacuation of its product line and increase product recovery is through a check valve that is used to push residual product downstream at the end of the process while preventing product backfill during cleaning. Nick Hansen, an improvement engineer at Noosa, set out to find a sanitary air check valve to complete the job.
The downside of the standard 3-A certified blow check valve is that it must be cleaned in place-manual cleaning steps increase downtime and increase the possibility of human error. Because food, dairy and beverage products are for human consumption, the sanitary standards of the production are very high, and a lot of attention must be paid to valve cleaning. However, every manual step added to the cleaning process creates a potential point of failure, so Hansen hopes to avoid the use of standard check valves.
A TrueClean blow-off check valve is installed on the honey circulation production line. After Central Industrial Corporation searched the Internet extensively, Hansen found the TrueClean CIP’able blow-off check valve, and he and his quality supervisor immediately realized that this was the best choice. The valve patented by Central Industries Corporation (CSI) is the only sanitary blow check valve approved by the 3-A sanitary standard for in-situ cleaning.
Using a blow check valve that can be cleaned without disassembly, Noosa can improve cleaning efficiency while maintaining product integrity. As the level of automation increases, Noosa operators can reduce their work by 40 minutes while reducing the flavor conversion to 45 seconds. After multiplying these savings by 13 conversions per week, they start to add up. Hansen said: “There is no reason to make a purchase.”
The TrueClean CIP’able blow check valve has a compact design and can easily replace the existing standard blow check valve. Typical uses include air agitation, air drying lines and product recycling.
When the product is flowing, the main valve stem is closed to prevent backflow into the air line. The second O-ring seals the air line. When air pressure is applied to the main air inlet, both the primary and secondary seals are opened to allow air to flow into the process line.
The working principle of TrueClean blow check valve. Central State Industrialization During CIP, air is applied to the actuator inlet to open the main valve stem while keeping the air line closed. CIP fluid flows around the main valve stem and inside the valve, thereby thoroughly cleaning the device.
Automation and pre-programming functions also simplify the product conversion process. “Automation allows us to fine-tune the process to ensure that we can recycle as much product as possible from each production line,” said Chris Rivoire, an automation engineer at Noosa. “The conversion process is a moment where many different things need to happen. Having this level of automation gives us more time to complete other tasks-when appropriate, this is more time.”
Only six months after installing the new valve, Noosa has already saved $16,000 and achieved full ROI in just two months. In addition to improving the recovery rate, Noosa can also save about 19 minutes of operating time during each flavor conversion process. This is equivalent to the working hours of more than 200 people per year (equivalent to five weeks of working time), which operators can use to complete other tasks.
Based on these results, Noosa expects to install 13 more valves in all of its production lines, saving the company $350,000 per year.
System upgrades that prevent waste without sacrificing cleanliness standards are also in line with Noosa’s corporate culture and brand. “From the beginning, Noosa has been focused on using our ideas and new technologies to ensure that we continue to produce the best yogurt in the world,” Rivoire said. “These new valves fit these ideas perfectly.”
Post time: Apr-26-2021
