Avoiding contamination is a crucial element in the design of hygienic process lines. Yet manufacturers often face uncertainties when cleaning ducts, tanks and other confined spaces with hard-to-reach shadow areas. The new Alfa Laval "Free Rotating Retractor" is a highly efficient, retractable cleaning device that offers complete cleaning safety. It increases product safety while boosting uptime and productivity. “The 'Free Rotating Retractor' is the latest example of how Alfa Laval works to make 100 percent cleaning coverage in hygienic processing lines, like milk or infant powder plants, a reality,” says Babak Shojaei, Manager, Product Management, Tank Cleaning, Alfa Laval. “We remain tireless in our efforts to innovate to meet customer needs.”
With the "Free Rotating Retractor", hygienic containers can be prepared quickly and economically so that all internal surfaces are spotlessly clean and ready for production. Dynamic and resource-efficient, this retractable cleaning-in-place device remains isolated from the product area during production and is flush with the container wall. The spray head slides out and ejects the cleaning media in a 310 degree spray pattern over the container surface. Once the cleaning cycle is complete, the spray head retracts and the container is ready for production again.
The "Free Rotating Retractor" quickly and effectively removes residue from the inner surfaces of hard-to-clean containers, preventing cross-contamination, minimizing downtime and increasing productivity. It complies with FDA, EU and Chinese regulations while ensuring good manufacturing and hygiene practices in dairy, food, beverage, household, personal care and other processing facilities. For high-purity pharmaceutical and biotech processing lines, the "Free Rotating Retractor UltraPure" is the solution.
The dynamic and resource-efficient cleaning device saves up to 35 percent water, chemicals and time in each CIP cycle compared to conventional static spray ball technology. In addition, the more efficient use of resources improves the sustainability of the entire production operation.
Due to its streamlined design, the "Free Rotating Retractor" is easy and economical to install, operate and maintain. To fully automate operations, two or more of these cleaning devices and Alfa Laval "ThinkTop" sensor and control units can be combined with an existing CIP system. All in all, the total cost of ownership of the retractor is low due to the minimal cost and effort associated with its ownership and operation.
