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 The movement of air is an important consideration in the design of most industrial cleaning systems.  The immediate application that comes to mind is, of course, in drying.  The movement of air is one of the major requirements for drying along with, of course, elevated temperature.  In most cases, the need to move air in … Continued

At the urging of several readers I have decided to, from time to time, present a little puzzle or “thinking exercise” here on the blog.  Maybe it will help those of us who are advancing in age to stave off the effects of Alzheimer’s disease or, better yet, just offer something to think about on … Continued

Cleanliness, as important as it is, is too often relegated to the final and “detached” stage in the process of product design.  Even a very insightful design engineer seldom looks at a design from its conception with an eye to how this thing is going to be cleaned in the end.  I suppose this is … Continued

The blog Pumps – Centrifugal Pumps provided some basic information about the type of pump most commonly used in industrial cleaning equipment.  Centrifugal pumps are simple, relatively inexpensive, versatile and reliable.  However, as I mentioned in that blog, they do have some limitations.  In order for a centrifugal pump to function, liquid to be pumped … Continued

Let’s again look at the system schematic shown in the preceding blog.  This time, however, it is shown with an “air lock.” The centrifugal pump, unable to pump air, is not able to move liquid to replace the air trapped in the plumbing system.  At first glance, it may not be obvious how this condition … Continued

I have stressed the importance of temperature to cleaning processes many times in previous blogs.  This blog will discuss the heat source options for achieving and maintaining the temperatures required for effective cleaning. Electric – Electric heat is, without a doubt, the most prevalent heat alternative used for cleaning applications.  This is because electric heaters are relatively inexpensive, relatively small, … Continued

In the blogs Chemistry – Oil Splitting and Oil Emulsification – Part 1 and Chemistry – Oil Splitting and Oil Emulsification – Part 2, I discussed how oils are removed from parts using chemistry that either splits or emulsifies the oil.  The next step is to collect and get rid of or recycle that removed oil.  This … Continued

Surface cavitation erosion of ultrasonic transducers is a topic that users and manufacturers of ultrasonic equipment would often rather not talk about – – but we must.  The erosion of a transducer surface due to surface cavitation is inevitable over time.  Its severity depends on several factors, some of which can be controlled and some … Continued

When parts aren’t coming clean two of the first things most process engineers target as potential problems are the temperature and concentration of the chemistry.  These are, in most cases, good bets but one should resist knee-jerk reactions. Chemical Concentration – One of the common knee-jerk reactions to a cleaning problem is to increase chemical … Continued

Just about everyone can recognize the benefits of sterilization to eliminate bio-burden in a plumbing system. Heat or chemicals toxic to living organisms are periodically introduced to kill the offending critters. This process can be conducted using either CIP (Clean In Place) or COP (Clean Out of Place) procedures. CIP simply means cleaning by flushing … Continued