Cryogenic cleaning minimises production downtime for food producers

A rapid, effective cleaning service for food production machines, equipment and cold stores, has been launched in the UK. The cleaning technology is based on dry ice (or cryogenic) blasting, which often enables production equipment to be cleaned whilst still in operation, minimising downtime and maximising machine availability for customers.

Specialist industrial cleaning company Polar Intelligent Cleaning Solutions Ltd (Polar ICS) based in Rutland, says its new cleaning service, which can be tailored to suit individual customers, is based on innovative technology developed in Denmark. To date, the cryogenic cleaning technology has been relatively unused here in the UK, but could make a significant difference to a food producer's bottom line.

Richard Wildsmith, Director of Polar ICS, has more than 20 years' experience working in the UK fresh produce sector. He comments: "Compared to traditional, labour intensive methods that food manufacturers use to clean their equipment, such as steam cleaning, solvents, chemicals and jet washing, Polar ICS' dry ice cleaning solution reduces the cleaning time by around 90 per cent on average. In addition, the cleaning process itself is non-toxic, non-conductive and non-abrasive."

According to Richard Wildsmith, food producers, particularly fresh food companies, that are suffering from any or all of the following - prolonged downtime; costly wear and tear to machinery; labour-intensive cleaning programmes; high costs for secondary waste disposal; and ineffective cleaning performance - then Polar ICS' cleaning service can make a difference. "These companies need to re-evaluate their cleaning processes, with a view to improving productivity, cutting cleaning costs, reducing machine downtime and maximising the life of their equipment."

Polar ICS uses dry ice blasting technology as its cleaning method. Dry ice blasting is a unique technology that uses small, compact dry ice pellets that are accelerated in a jet of compressed air. These pellets strike the surface at the speed of sound, whereupon they crack and loosen the coating on the surface that is being treated. The low temperature (-79 deg C) of the dry ice pellets makes the coating brittle, which cracks and loosens the surface, allowing the dry ice to permeate the coating. The dry ice then sublimes (passes from a solid state to vapour), which leads to a 700-fold increase in volume, an explosive effect that lifts the coating off the surface.

Dry ice vapourises immediately on contact with treated surfaces, which offers unique advantages compared to traditional blasting methods. First, there is no secondary waste material such as sand, plastic or glass. The only waste from the process is the coating that has been dislodged by the treatment, which can be swept or vacuumed. This also means the technology can be used to clean difficult-to-reach surfaces. If traditional blasting methods were used, residual-blasting materials would collect in these inaccessible corners.

Dry ice blasting is a completely dry process and works without chemicals, solvents and water. This is what makes the technology ideal for cleaning electrical equipment, machinery and other water- or moisture-sensitive applications.

The technology can also be used with a wide range of blasting nozzles, which means normally inaccessible areas on machines can also be cleaned effectively and quickly. Dry ice blasting also eliminates the need for pre-soaking from the cleaning process, saving time and reducing costs for the customer.

As Richard Wildsmith explains: "Traditional cleaning methods often require the machines to be disassembled and moved to a designated cleaning area. Polar ICS' method allows cleaning to be carried out whilst the machine is still running, without the need for dismantling and without the need for drying or cooling down time. Costly production downtime is therefore reduced."

Wildsmith cites two recent examples of where Polar ICS' service has made a difference to customers. "We recently visited a UK food manufacturing plant in order to clean an automatic weighing machine that was being used primarily to pack citrus fruits. The weighing units were positioned on top of the machine and so were difficult to access. The machine had a very high build up of dirt, wax from the fruit and plu labels. By using an extended lance, our engineer was able to successfully clean each unit in situ. The customer could not use traditional cleaning methods here because there were multiple electronic weighing mechanisms fitted to the machine, which were sensitive to moisture. The entire machine was cleaned and ready to work again within two and a half hours."

Another example, says Wildsmith, involved a punnet-netting machine used by a UK-based company for packaging various types of stone fruit. He explains further: "The solenoid pack was situated within the main frame of the machine, out of reach of anyone using a brush or standard airline to clean down the machine. The pack was covered in netting debris that was being held in place by a small amount of leaked oil from the automatic lubricating system. By using the soft touch capabilities of the cryogenic blasting equipment, we were able to remove all the dirt and oil from around the solenoid pack, without causing any damage to the airlines. The machine was cleaned and ready to operate again within one hour."

Polar ICS' cryogenic blasting service complies with all relevant cleaning and food hygiene standards, including HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point), BRC (British Retail Consortium) and Soil Association guidelines.

As well as food production machines and equipment, Polar ICS cleaning solutions can also be used to clean other machines and electrical equipment used in industrial environments, including machine tools, electric motors and drives, assembly machines, conveyors and other complex machinery.

Polar Intelligent Cleaning in profile
Polar Intelligent Cleaning Solutions (Polar ICS) is a specialist industrial cleaning company that offers a revolutionary, environmentally friendly dry ice cleaning solution for the fresh produce sector. From one-off service cleans to regular contract work, this efficient and effective method of cleaning machinery, equipment and cold stores adds value to a customer's business through improved productivity, better cleaning performance, reduced waste and lower costs.

The staff at Polar ICS has more than 20 years' experience in the fresh produce/food manufacturing sector. The company's hands-on experience of dealing with major multiples provides the company with the expertise, knowledge and understanding of the cleaning standards required for HACCP, BRC and the Soil Association.

For further information, e-mail: richard@polar-ics.co.uk or view website: www.polar-ics.co.uk

Marigold Industrial®, now offer its
new range of disposable safety gloves

Marigold Industrial®, leading expert in Hand & Arm Protection, has further enhanced its range of disposable safety gloves with the launch of NT10P PF

The new powder free purple glove has been designed for a range of industries where workers will be coming into short term direct contact with potentially irritant chemicals such as the food handling and processing, painting, laboratory and electronics sectors.

The disposable glove, which comes in a 100-glove dispenser box, is manufactured from a 100% nitrile formula, providing low hand fatigue, flexibility, comfort and excellent levels of dexterity.

Wearer comfort is further enhanced thanks to the accelerator-free vulcanization process that the gloves are exposed to during the manufacturing process and the power free finish, which minimizes allergic reactions.

Compliant with the standards EN420 (general requirements) and EN374 (chemical and micro-organisms Hazards) the ambidextrous gloves enjoy a textured finish and also a beaded cuff for better tear resistance.

Available in sizes S, M L and XL, and 240mm in length, NT10P PF has been manufactured under EC quality assurance system carried out by the ASQUAL body.
"The new NT10P PF has been designed to combine comfort, flexibility and dexterity with protection against a range of irritant chemicals that workers can encounter and who will need short term need cover," said Donald Gillespie, International Marketing Manager, Marigold Industrial Ltd.

For further information: view website: marigold-industrial.com or email: ukenquiries@marigold-industrial.com

Hand protection expert Marigold Industrial® has created what is believed
to be the first ever Chemical Permeation Chart for disposable gloves

Hand protection expert Marigold Industrial® has created what is believed to be the first ever Chemical Permeation Chart for disposable gloves.

The new chart is an essential reference tool for anyone working with or responsibility for selecting hand protection for people working with chemicals who need to know what levels of protection disposable gloves will offer.

Ideally suited for those working in sectors such as food processing, laboratory and pharmaceutical, hairdressing salons, the automotive, engineering and repair and maintenance sectors, the new guide provides essential information on what levels of contact time protection the range of Marigold Industrial disposable gloves provide against 96 common workplace chemicals.

The easy-to-follow chart adopts a number rating from 0 to 6 to highlight specific glove permeation performance against the listed chemicals. A glove with a score of 6 provides permeation protection of over 8 hours whilst a glove with a score of 0 provides protection of less than 10 minutes and is therefore inappropriate for use with a particular chemical. Users can also cross-reference official chemical names with their common alternative names.

"We are delighted to be able to launch our new Disposable Gloves - Chemical Permeation Chart, which provides essential performance data for all of our chemical resistant gloves.

"This type of information is essential in determining which product provides the very best protection against a wide range of chemicals and is an essential tool for anyone with health and safety responsibility, to minimise the risk of the protective performance of the glove being compromised and putting the wearer in potential harms way.

"The new chart effectively spells out clearly and simply not only how long you can safely use our gloves with a particular chemical but which gloves provide the highest levels of protection, therefore making decision making process a lot easier," said Marigold Industrial UK Country Manager John Thorne.

Permeation is the process by which a chemical can pass through a protective barrier - ie a glove - without going through visible openings. Molecules of a specific chemical enter the glove material and effectively wriggle through the compound - with the glove material often appearing unchanged to the human eye despite the fact its protection has been compromised.

For further information, view website: marigold-industrial.com or email: ukenquiries@marigold-industrial.com