Understand the difference between clean-in-place and clean-out-of-place pump sanitation— and why it matters for your bottom line.
Inadequate Clean-in-Place (CIP) sanitation is the industrial version of pulling oatmeal-crusted dishes out of the dishwasher; realtable at home, catastrophic in production. That’s because hygienic processing relies entirely on the sanitation of process lines and equipment; without it, bacterial and allergen contamination can trigger costly product recalls.. On the other hand, Clean-Out-of-Place (COP) sanitation (manual cleaning) may ensure thorough cleaning, , but it requires significant labor, adds downtime, and introduces opportunities for equipment damage.
The cleaning method you choose depends in part on the type and design the pump. This blog post compares CIP and COP and reviews the compatibility of different pumps with each method.
The meaning of and differences between CIP and COP
Good Manufacturing Processes define sanitation using four variables known in the industry as TACT: Temperature, Action, Chemical Concentration, and Time. Action refers to friction cleaning by water turbulence, by hand, or pressure washing. Regulatory bodies such as the FDA (under 21 CFR 211.67) and FSMA require processors to define and document cleaning based on these variables.
Processors and quality managers can achieve compliance by CIP or COP.
CIP method for sanitary pumps
Clean-in-place means exactly that—the equipment remains in its original position, and no disassembly is required. The equipment is engineered to ensure cleaning solutions reach all wetted surfaces, ensuring thorough, complete sanitation. When a pump is designed for CIP, it handles the cleaning cycle with minimal labor.
Clean-out-of-Place means the pump is removed from the line, disassembled, and cleaned manually. Done correctly, COP delivers thorough, validated cleaning. Unfortunately, some pump designs can make disassembly slow, complicated, and dependent on experienced technicians. The more steps involved, the more opportunity for a missed surface, a misassembled component, or a cleaning cycle that runs long and cuts into production.
Given a choice, processing operation managers always prefer CIP cleaning. It is consistent, fast, and virtually labor-free. CIP systems pump hot cleaning solution through pipework and equipment in a system. In some cases, the system’s existing pump provides the circulation. Pipework is usually easy to clean; pumps and valves are sticking points where product may collect.
Nevertheless, CIP doesn’t fit every situation. Centralized cleaning systems are expensive, and for small, widely spaced, or infrequent applications, they may not be cost effective. Many sites use portable cleaning rigs or manual cleaning instead.
COP method
Manual cleaning, COP, is the only option in many applications. Some product is too viscous or fatty for effective CIP. Raw ground chicken, some slurries, lotions, etc., can’t be washed away by pumping cleaning solution through the system. This is especially true of the location behind pump rotors.
3-A sanitary standards state that equipment with complex crevices must be designed for disassembly so it can be cleaned manually if CIP is not adequate. In a COP process, workers must disassemble the pump to thoroughly clean it. At many plants, the pump is removed from the line and rolled on a cart to a cleaning area.
Product is not the only factor. At some processors, safety protocols require inspection of pumps and other equipment to certify adequate cleaning. I encountered this at a facility pumping a mixture containing raw eggs. They had experienced sanitation failures in the past. Workers manually cleaned the pump, and then an inspector observed and swabbed the pump interior and rotors.
The impact of pump types on cleaning
There are several types of hygienic pumps, and, as expected, the type of pump impacts the cleaning method.
- Twin screw pumps can run at high RPM, delivering the high pressure and turbulence needed for CIP cleaning without the need for an external pump.
- Gear pumps, in contrast, usually run at low speed for filling and metering applications; they must be cleaned with an external CIP rig or by hand.
- Lobe pumps fall somewhere between, and the product characteristics dictate whether the pump must be cleaned in or out of place.
- Traditional air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pumps cannot handle the high pressures required for CIP, although alternative designs can be cleaned in place with external rigs up to 7 bar (100 psi).
- Centrifugal pumps are commonly used with low-viscosity product. They may be cleaned manually, but usually they are cleaned in place. They operate at high RPM and, on rare occasions, are used to pump the cleaning solution.
Where CIP delivers
For AODD pump applications, the Flotronic® One-Nut® AODD+™ pump brings CIP capability to a pump type that has traditionally required COP. An optimized piston length allows reinforced diaphragms capable of CIP pressures. The pump is cleaned in place, eliminating the additional valving, potential dead legs, and validation complications that come with bypassing the pump during CIP. For facilities currently taking AODD pumps apart for manual cleaning, this represents a fundamental shift.
Where COP is necessary — and how to make it faster
For applications where COP is the appropriate protocol, pump design directly determines the amount of cleaning labor required.
AODD pumps
Our Flotronic AODD+ pump features a patented One-Nut design that allows disassembly by removing a single large nut. Unlike traditional AODD designs with extensive pipework that must be disassembled for cleaning, the AODD+ pump routes the process fluids through the center of the pump and places the diaphragms on the outside, where they are easily accessible. This inside-out design, plus the One-Nut construction, slashes COP time from two hours to 15 minutes.
Lobe pumps
Many hygienic lobe pumps in the marketplace are based on legacy designs intended for CIP applications. Such pumps have many components, including small parts. The manufacturers sell these pumps into COP environments, where operators experience long cleaning cycles and pump damage during cleaning.
Unlike any other lobe pumps, Unibloc® QuickStrip® pumps are designed to be disassembled, cleaned in place, and returned to service in only 20 minutes. The patented, minimal-part design also reduces damage from rushed sanitation crews.
- Workers need no tools, removing a common source of scratching and component damage.
- Bolt-free rotors slide out easily, eliminating the risk of damage from mis-torquing.
- One-way part assembly ensures technicians reassemble correctly every time, reducing the training burden and minimizing part damage.
- Heavy pump covers are held in place by a Safety Swing Arm, facilitating cleaning and avoiding worker injury.
The labor math
Consider a facility running two COP cleaning cycles per day on three pumps. If each cycle takes 60 minutes with a conventional pump but only 20 minutes with a QuickStrip pump, that's four hours of labor saved per day (calculated based on three pumps at two cycles per day). Across a five-day week, that's 20 hours returned to production. Imagine the impact on production calculated for an entire year!
Where CIP is an option
Our Unibloc FoodFirst® and Unibloc CleanPlus™ lobe pumps are fully compatible with CIP processes, with no oatmeal left behind. Rather than using problematic rotor bolts, the rotors are stabilized by a patented FlushCap™ bearing that sits flush and allowing cleaning solution to penetrate. Users get the high efficiency of tight rotor clearances without the risk of the rotor shaft flexing so much that the rotors contact the housing. Operators with other pumps may remanufacture scratched housings, but at high cost and with weeks of downtime. Instead, Unibloc pump users get the high performance they demand throughout the pump’s life.
Not sure whether your application uses a pump that makes your cleaning cycle harder than it needs to be? Ask our pump experts.
Unibloc® Hygienic Technologies is one of the only leading pump manufacturers to offer all four primary hygienic pump technologies — lobe, gear, AODD, and twin screw. That means our application engineers aren’t locked into one solution; they can recommend the pump that genuinely fits your process, your cleaning cycle, and your bottom line.
