CIP Filtration?

[DanTheWelshMan]

Afternoon all!

Do any of you use filters with clean-in-place? To help in keeping/re-using the caustic and acid?

Trying to find out what size filter would be best for this purpose? 5 micron/2500 mesh?

Cheers, Dan.

[gitchegumee]

We always use a sock on recirculating CIP when cleaning the brewhouse/heat exchanger. Otherwise, you're just redepositing the trub/hop particulate back into the system. I wouldn't use a cartridge filter--and certainly 5 micron is far too fine--but rather a basket strainer with a finer mesh. How fine is dependent on how big the basket is. You don't want to plug it up and clean it multiple times per cycle. But for sure you do want to collect that trash and dispose of it rather than let it accumulate in your CIP brink. It's not that difficult or expensive to let trial and error be your guide here. Best of luck!

[DanTheWelshMan]

Cheers Phillip,

What size micron sock do you use? I was looking at using a In-line Tri Clamp Filter Strainer.

Do you use the filter sock for fermenter CIP too?

Looking to be as eco as possible with the caustic.

[dick murton]

We only ever used a coarse (stainless steel mesh or perforated solid sheet) filter so that it would take out bits of rubber, broken impeller or similar (jumbo brewery stuff) because anything fine enough to remove trub or similar would block so quickly as to be unusable. So you cannot afford to go very fine. For what it is worth, I always specified conical bottom CIP tanks, because this mean that solids would settle, and sludge could be run to drain from the bottom of the cone before starting recirculation - automate sequence in large breweries, but manual in small ones. I think I only ever succeeded with one CIP set, all the others being installed with flat or dish bottoms - a nightmare in practice. Alternatively, and I did win here usually, was to have the outlet above the bottom of the CIP tank to allow space for settlement.

mesh sizing probably closer to 1 or 2 mm

[DanTheWelshMan]

Cheers Dick. I was only thinking of using the finer mesh after a hot rinse. Just for the Caustic and Acid stages. Nice idea about the conical CIP tank. I'm only 5BBL at present so won't have that much trub after hot rinse. I'm assuming a small amount of crap remaining in the Caustic and Acid tanks isn't really an issue then??? Cheers.

[gitchegumee]

The socks we use are not rated for micron size. Again, your particular practice will dictate size based on trial and error. We use a sock the size of which is like what you'd wear in "fine" mesh nylon. One on trub strainer prior to heat exchanger. Another on return hose to CIP brink. They accumulate quite a bit of hop particulate, but don't clog easily. And if they do, we stop and empty them. That's why we use them! You would be surprised to see how much dirt is in your heat exchanger after a CIP. Hop particulate is very easy to lift and then redeposit on plates. Even with twice the normal flow in opposing direction of normal.