A Caloris customer was experiencing production issues with their spray dryer, which we determined was due to inefficient spray dryer CIP.
Our engineer visited in the early morning hours to watch the start of production and a full spray dryer CIP cycle. He noted a fair amount of buildup in the chamber, u-tube and cyclones and that they used fairly low water temperatures for cleaning. He increased the temperature of the water used in the CIP flush from 124° F to 185° F and noted that this completely cleaned the unit.
He also noted that the CIP wash fluid was always being recycled into the feed tank, meaning that dirty water was always being used in subsequent cycles. He recommended reconfiguring the system so the initial prewash fluid is drained away before entering recirculation.
Our engineer also noticed that the sifter was being washed during every CIP cycle — an inefficiency that was exacerbated by leaking CIP valves that caused moisture in undesirable areas. He recommended a block and bleed valve to help prevent moisture in unwanted places as well as repairing the leaks, which would improve overall CIP system efficiency.
During his visit, our engineer worked with plant operators as they removed the lances and nozzles. The operators were leaving the nozzles in for longer than recommended, potentially contributing to the buildup issue.
He noted that each operator ran the dryer slightly differently and recommended automating the dryer to keep production more consistent. The biggest risk of buildup happens during start up and shut down, he said.
Our engineer proposed several other potential system tweaks to help improve CIP efficiency and reduce the chance for buildup.
Meet The Engineer
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Are you experiencing problems with your spray dryer system? Caloris can provide service support for units from many manufacturers. Call us at 410-822-6900 or problem.solved@caloris.com to arrange for a process assessment at your facility.
