DE9403932U1 - Arrangement for the provision of cleaning agents - Google Patents

Description

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. 03.03.94

Arrangement for the provision of cleaning agents

The innovation relates to an arrangement for providing cleaning agents, in particular for industrial cleaning processes in plants in the food and beverage industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the chemical industry, according to the 5 preamble of claim 1.

An arrangement of the type described in the introduction is used, for example, in the context of so-called CIP cleaning (CIP: "cleaning in place", which means "cleaning in place in flow"). The arrangement serves to provide cleaning agents, for example hot water, fresh water, disinfectants, lye or acid, at a temperature suitable for the cleaning procedure to be carried out via a supply line and, after use, to return this to the arrangement via a return line, where it can be "sharpened" if necessary (adjust the lye or acid to a desired concentration) and then, if necessary, to feed it again to further cleaning processes or procedures after heating up (so-called stack cleaning system).

As part of the circuit described above, the system must also be able to initially "prepare" cleaning agents consisting of acid, alkali or disinfectant of a certain concentration and either store (stack) this in a container before use or use it immediately after preparation. The cleaning agent can be made available by externally supplying it from the environment or by the aforementioned "preparation", which can be done either in the container (preparing a certain amount, batch) or by supplying the corresponding concentrate into a line with-

by means of a dosing pump over the period of time required.

In addition to the provision of cleaning agents in the aforementioned "stack cleaning system", cleaning agents can also be provided in the so-called "fresh batch". In this case, the cleaning agent is not returned with the aim of "stacking" and subsequent reuse for further cleaning processes and is discarded after it has been used in the cleaning process carried out, in which it is usually circulated for a specified time.

When changing the cleaning agent during the cleaning procedure, for example from hot water to acid or alkali and then back to hot water, the system must be able to detect the change of media and, on the one hand, distribute the different cleaning agent flows to the various containers and, if necessary, remove mixed cleaning agents from the system into the environment and discard them there.

The arrangement therefore has a large number of interfaces to the environment, for example hot water supplied from outside, acid and/or alkali supplied from outside, fresh water supplied from outside, lines for draining and discharging cleaning agents into the environment and a line for draining condensate if the heat exchanger intended for heating the cleaning agent is heated with steam. Further connections to the periphery of the arrangement are the cleaning agent supply line and the cleaning agent return line.
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The requirements to be placed on the arrangement in terms of performance (throughput, heating output) on the one hand

and the structure of the containers to be provided for the various cleaning agents, on the other hand, are varied. Up to now, it was therefore usual to design such arrangements for the provision of cleaning agents according to the wishes and needs of the user, so that each of these arrangements was, so to speak, unique. A cost-effective series prefabrication of such systems was therefore generally not possible; at best, a prefabrication of certain components. '

Based on the aforementioned requirements and needs, the aim of the innovation is to structure and further develop an arrangement for the provision of cleaning agents of the type identified in the introduction in such a way that, while being as flexible as possible in adapting to the needs of the user, it is nevertheless standardizable and thus accessible to series prefabrication.

This aim is achieved by applying the characterizing features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the arrangement according to the innovation are the subject of the subclaims.

The proposed standardized basic unit largely combines all functions of the arrangement. The basic unit takes over the control and distribution of the respective volume flows, such as the fresh water supply to the system to be cleaned, the cleaning agent flow and return flow for hot water and, if necessary, acid and/or alkali and/or disinfectant, the discharge of the various cleaning agents from the basic unit, the respective cleaning agent flow into an external container for storage there, the supply of the cleaning agent flow from the container into the basic unit (circulation), the supply of the cleaning agent or its concentrate (in the case of

for example via a dosing pump) from the environment and draining the cleaning agent from the container into the environment. In addition, the basic unit has the task of heating up the respective cleaning agent, separating different cleaning agents from one another (media separation) and, if necessary, recognizing and controlling the need to sharpen the acid and/or alkali and/or disinfectant. Sharpening can take place directly into a line via at least one dosing pump arranged in the basic unit or, by appropriate measures, directly into the container(s) of the container unit(s). In the so-called fresh preparation mode, only one container unit (for fresh water) is provided with the basic unit.

In addition, the energy source required to heat the cleaning agent must be supplied to the base unit and, after the heat exchange, removed from it again.

As a rule, all that remains for the container within the scope of its respective container unit is the supply of the cleaning agent to and removal from the basic unit by means of a circuit. In addition, if necessary, as provided for by an advantageous design of the arrangement according to the innovation, the supply of the cleaning agent or its concentrate from the environment can be provided directly into the container.

Since the above-mentioned container functions are independent of the cleaning agent present, the individual container units that combine these functions can be designed in exactly the same way as one another. The only variable is the volume of the container, which can preferably be varied via the height of the cylinder shell of the container. The

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The supply and discharge lines for the circulation of the cleaning agent and, if necessary, the devices for feeding the cleaning agent directly into the respective container are just as clearly defined and can therefore be standardized as all the lines leading into and out of the basic unit. Without any loss of functionality, a standardized and functionally self-sufficient basic unit also allows containers provided by the user to be used instead of the standardized container unit or units.

The clear definition and standardization of all interfaces of the container units and the base unit allow, as an advantageous embodiment of the proposed arrangement according to the innovation provides, standardized intermediate piping between the respective container unit and the base unit. This means that the entire arrangement for providing the cleaning agent (base unit, container unit, intermediate piping) can be prefabricated so that after installation at the user's site it only needs to be connected to its respective environment at its peripheral interfaces.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the arrangement according to the innovation, performance-determining and/or performance-limiting components of the basic unit are arranged in an exchangeable manner in the latter. This property allows the basic unit to be subsequently adapted to changed or new operating conditions or requirements of the user. The performance-determining components of the basic unit include, for example, the heat exchanger and the pump. Performance-limiting components include, among other things, pipe sections with a specific nominal diameter, shut-off devices and fittings. The structure of the basic unit is selected in such a way that, if necessary, without time-consuming and costly adaptation measures.

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measures to ensure that these components can be replaced.

In order to take into account the wishes of some users for a cost-effective arrangement, a further advantageous embodiment of the proposed arrangement according to the innovation provides for the relevant components of the basic unit in connection with the container unit or units to be designed to be manually controllable (so-called hand version).

The wishes of another part of the users for a largely automated arrangement are taken into account according to another advantageous design of the arrangement according to the innovation in that the relevant components of the basic unit in connection with the container unit or units can be controlled automatically. For this purpose, a control system is provided in the basic unit with which almost all shut-off devices of the basic unit and the container units as well as all measuring and control devices are controlled.

Examples of the arrangement according to the innovation are shown in the drawing and are explained below.

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a first arrangement according to the innovation in a so-called automatic version and

Figure 2 also shows a schematic representation of a so-called hand version modified from the arrangement shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows a basic unit I in connection with, for example, three container units II, III and IV. The latter are intended in this case for lye L or acid S or hot water H. The container units II,

III and IV are identical in their structure, so that only the container unit II is described below, as a representative of the others. A supply line 2a is preferably led into a container 2 via its shell part, while a drain line 2b is led out of its lower base part. The lye L is fed into the container 2 via a first line section 2h provided with a shut-off device 2c, for example a shut-off valve. The shut-off device 2c is provided with a remote-controlled drive. The container 2 is equipped with insulation 2e and has a fill level monitor 2f. The interface of the container unit II with the environment (lye supply L), as well as all other interfaces of the container units III and IV and the basic unit I, is marked with C.

The basic unit I has a heat exchanger 1 and a line Ll connected to it and leading from it, in which the following components are arranged in the order of the following names: a first check valve 6, a first shut-off device 7, a shut-off valve 8 for hot water flow, a shut-off valve 9 for acid flow, a shut-off valve 10 for lye flow, a pump 5, a second check valve 11 and a safety valve 12. The line Ll has its outlet at the interface C for the fresh or cold water supply F and flows into a shuttle valve 13. From the latter, on the one hand, a flow line L2 for the flow V of the cleaning agent is led out and on the other hand, a return line L3 is led through the shuttle valve 13, which begins at the interface C for the return R of the cleaning agent and ends at an interface C for the outlet A for the cleaning agent. In the return line L3, starting at the interface C to the return line R, the following components are arranged: a second shut-off device 14, which

the above-mentioned shuttle valve 13, a shut-off valve 18 for the lye return, a shut-off valve 17 for the acid return, a shut-off valve for the hot water return and a third shut-off device 15.
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The heat exchanger 1 is steam-heated in the illustrated embodiment. The steam D is brought in from the environment at the interface C and introduced into a steam line L4, in which the following components are provided in the order of the following mention: a fourth shut-off valve 19, a dirt trap 20 and a control valve 21. The steam line L4 is continued after the heat exchanger 1 as a condensate line L5 with a condensate drain 22 and a third check valve 23 to the interface C for the condensate K.

The contents of the containers 2, 3 and 4 can be drained into the environment E via a fourth shut-off device 37, which is provided in an associated drain line L6 branching off from the line L1.

Cleaning agent concentrate (for example disinfectant B or acid S or lye L) can be dosed directly into line L1 via metering pumps 34, 35 and 36 and associated, preferably diaphragm-controlled valves 30 or 31 or 32, respectively, via respective associated, unspecified line sections. The same applies to hot water H, which can be fed directly into the line of the base unit via a fourth shut-off device 33 within an associated line section. Such "preparation" of cleaning agent directly in the base unit and a direct supply of hot water to the base unit can be provided as an alternative or in addition to the provision of cleaning agent and hot water via the container units II, III and IV. A correspondingly designed

The basic unit I designed is particularly suitable for the aforementioned fresh batch operation.

With the exception of the fourth shut-off valve 19 and the fourth shut-off device 37, all shut-off valves, devices and the shuttle valve 13 are provided with a remote-controlled drive, preferably a pneumatically actuated drive. They are controlled via a control unit 24.

Also connected to the control unit 24 are a control device 25 and a temperature switch (overtemperature protection) 26 for the flow temperature, a first flow monitor 27 for the flow V of the cleaning agent, a second flow monitor 28 for the return R of the cleaning agent and a control 29 for the conductivity of the cleaning agent flowing in the return line L3.

The inlet line 2a or 3a or 4a, which leads into the container units II, III and IV, ends in the shut-off valve 18 or 17 or 16, via which a connection to the return line L3 can be made. The drain line 2b or 3b or 4b, which leads out of the container units II, III and IV, ends in the shut-off valve 10 or 9 or 8, via which a connection to the line Ll can be made.

In terms of piping, there is therefore only the above-mentioned connection between the basic unit I and the container units II, III and IV via the inlet lines 2a, 3a, 4a and the outlet lines 2b, 3b, 4b, which are advantageously designed as standardized intermediate piping.

In the hand version of the proposed arrangement according to

of the innovation (Figure 2), only those components that differ from the automatic version according to Figure 1 are marked with asterisk (*) reference symbols. The difference between the manual and automatic versions is essentially that the shut-off valves and devices are manually controlled. This concerns the shut-off devices 2c*, 3c*, 4c* in the container units II* or III* or IV*, the shut-off valves or devices 7*, 8*, 9* and 10* in the line Ll and the shut-off valves or devices 15*, 16*, 17* and 18* in the return line L3, the valves 30*, 31* and 32* and the shut-off device 33*. The return line L3 is shut off from the return line R via a manually operated shut-off device 14*. Instead of the shuttle valve 13 in the automatic version (Figure 1) there are two separate shut-off devices 13.1* and 13.2*.

Containers 2, 3 and 4 have a level indicator 2f* or 3f* or 4f*. To determine and monitor the respective cleaning agent concentration, a sample tap 2g* or 2g* or 4g* is arranged in the lower area of the relevant container 2 or 3 or 4.

In contrast to the automatic version, the manual version only has a temperature display 26* in the return line L3. The control of the flow temperature of the cleaning agent in the line Ll is carried out in the same way as in the automatic version. However, a hardware controller is provided here, whereas in the automatic version the control is expediently implemented in software in the control unit 24. With regard to the intermediate piping between the container units II*, III* and IV* and the basic unit I* and the interfaces to the environment of the overall arrangement, the manual version and the automatic version are identical.

Claims (6)

- 12 protection claims 1. Arrangement for the provision of cleaning agents, in particular for industrial cleaning processes in plants in the food and beverage industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the chemical industry, consisting of - a heat exchanger to heat the cleaning agent, - a pump to pump the cleaning agent, - if necessary, at least one dosing pump for pumping cleaning agent concentrate, - at least one container for storing the cleaning agent, - Facilities for supplying - Fresh water and/or hot water and/or - Acid and/or alkali and/or disinfectants and/or other agents or their concentrates and - Heating energy for the heat exchanger
in the arrangement, - Facilities for removing and discharging - Hot water and/or - Acid and/or alkali and/or disinfectant and/or other agents and - if necessary for draining condensate
from the arrangement, - measuring, control and regulating devices, - Piping, shut-off devices and fittings - to promote the cleaning agent - from the container(s) into a supply line connected to the periphery of the arrangement, and - via a return line leading from the periphery of the arrangement into the latter and - for circulating the cleaning agent within the arrangement via the container(s), characterized in that - the arrangement in a standardized basic unit (I; I*) and - in at least one standardised container unit (II, III, IV; II*, III*, IV*) connected to it via pipes (2a and 2b, 3a and 3b, 4a and 4b) is divided, whereby the container unit (II, III, IV; II*, III*, IV*) consists of a container (2, 3, 4) and a supply and drain line (2a and 2b or 3a and 3b or 4a and 4b) necessary for circulating the cleaning agent via the container (2, 3, 4) and all other components of the arrangement are combined in the basic unit (I; I*). 2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the container unit or units (II, III, IV; II*, III*, IV*) is or are additionally equipped with devices for supplying (2c and 2h or 3c and 3h or 4c and 4h) the cleaning agent. 3. Arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the base unit (I; I*) and the container unit or units (II, III, IV; II*, III*, IV*) are connected to one another via a standardized intermediate piping (2a and 2b or 3a and 3b or 4a and 4b). 4. Arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that performance-determining (including heat exchanger (1), pump (5), metering pump(s) (34, 35,...)) and/or performance-limiting (including nominal diameter-determined pipeline sections, shut-off devices, fittings) components of the basic unit (I; I*) are arranged interchangeably in the latter. 5. Arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the relevant components of the basic unit (I; I*) in connection with the container • ter unit or units (II, III, IV; II*, 5 III*, IV*) can be controlled automatically. 6. Arrangement according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the relevant components of the basic unit (I; I*) in connection with the container 10 ter unit or units (II, III, IV; II*, III*, IV*) are manually controlled.