Identification and modelling of different removal modes in the cleaning of a model food deposit

• Published in: Chemical engineering science Vol. 61; no. 22; pp. 7528 - 7534
• Main Authors: Liu, W., Zhang, Z., Fryer, P.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical engineering; Cleaning; Exact sciences and technology; Food engineering; Food industries; Food processing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Hygiene; Surface energy; Cleaning; Food processing; Hygiene; Surface energy; Food industry; Rupture; Food engineering; Modeling
• ISSN: 0009-2509; 1873-4405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2006.08.045

All food process plant must be cleaned to ensure hygienic operation, but cleaning is not well understood. Micromanipulation probes have been developed which can measure the force required to disrupt and remove deposits from surfaces. Here, the forces required to remove a tomato paste deposit at different heights x from the surface have been measured. At small x , the work needed to remove the deposit increases with height and is a function of the nature of the surface, whilst at larger x the work needed decreases with increasing x and is not a function of the surface. Two simple models have been developed which fit the data and observations of cleaning; these are based (i) at small x , on the fracture of the deposit and motion across the surface, and (ii) at larger x , on the fracture of deposit–deposit bonds and removal of a uniform layer.