Ice Pigging for the FMCG Sector
Ice Pigging is suitable for use on a wide variety of consumer products and can be adapted to give maximum benefits depending on the characteristics of the product in the pipe. Despite its adaptability, the principles of the application remain the same for all products.
Ice has a significantly more effective cleaning power compared to water flushing and has the ability to navigate bends, restrictions, valves and most obstructions that limit the use of solid pigs. This is particularly effective within the food, beverage and HPC environments.
Ice Pigging is often considered a very effective pre-clean prior to a chemical CIP process. Ice Pigging can remove up to 99% of all product from a line, resulting in a major reduction in effluent, a fast and much more effective CIP and a much better chance of product recovery.
Ice Pigging on Tomato Ketchup from Ice Pigging on Vimeo.
Use ice pigging to transform the efficiency of your production process:
specialised ice making
The solution is highly flexible meaning it is well suited to the diversity of food, drink and home & personal care industries. A freezing point depressant must be used to control the structure of the ice slurry and to prevent the ice from forming large crystals.
Choice of an appropriate freezing point depressant can be varied depending on the product to be cleaned. NaCl (table salt) is often used, but sugars, alcohols, acids and many other commonly found base ingredients can be used as a freezing point depressant to suit the product being produced. This means that the risk of product contamination can be removed and often leads to greater opportunities for product recovery.
products with high viscosity
Highly viscous products such as mayonnaise, face cream, jams and spreads can uniquely be removed using ice. We have experience of removing a range of these types of products such as paraffin wax from pipes. By varying the thickness of the ice, and careful control of the ice pumping process, a high percentage of product can be removed from pipes. Only Ice Pigging with very high ice fractions (ice thickness) is able to induce sufficient shear on the pipe wall to remove highly viscous products. Our experience and the production and management of very thick ice is unique to the equipment that we use.
We appreciate that every factory environment may have differing requirements for hygienic control depending on the product being produced, so we recommend you get in touch to discuss your products and the specific requirements you might have.
the aql500 ice pigging machine
The AQL500 is a factory-ready and fully automated Ice Pigging machine that can be used for line cleaning and improved product recovery on process lines which are seen as un-piggable.
The machine combines the following into one unit:
The system operates on a continuous basis, capable of delivering "always-ready" conditioned ice for the purpose of Ice Pigging of liquid products and foodstuffs in enclosed pipes.
Superior Ice Pigging Equipment
The AQL500 is the world’s only Ice Pigging machine designed from the ground-up with hygienic operation in mind. The design of the machine follows principles and guidance set out by EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering Design Group) such as:
AQL500 Ice Pigging Machine Brochure
AQL500 Technical Specification Sheet
View some of our Ice Pigging videos on FMCG products
When a factory's process is ready to be cleaned, the factory will call the AQL500 to inject ice which is pushed to the purge valve whilst the injection valve is closed. This will remove any melt that may still be in the line and will help to establish a clear product to ice interface. Once the purge volume has been delivered, the plant stops and alerts the factory that the ice is ready for injection.
Once the factory has prepared the line a start signal is sent to the AQL500 Ice Pigging machine. The machine then injects the correct volume of ice for the selected recipe. Upon completion, the factory receives a confirmation signal and can proceed to the ice propulsion stage.
The Ice Pig must then be propelled to the line end. This task is undertaken by the factory and can be achieved using several methods: water push, CIP liquid push or even using the next product.
To maintain the quality of the product being recovered it is important to detect the product – Ice Pig interface. Upon detection of this interface a divert valve can be activated to direct the Ice Pig to a separate collection point. Several options are available for interface detection, where possible sensors present in the system can be used. Suitable measurements include density, brix, conductivity, turbidity and temperature.
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