CIP Membranes in

Dairy Application
Felicity Plansky

Membrane Technical Field Specialist

Overview
Hydrite Chemical Co. is a privately-held, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
based chemical distribution and manufacturing company.
4th Largest Chemical Distribution and Manufacturing Company in
North America.
Founded in 1929 by Richard C. Honkamp.
Diverse Business

Food Sanitation & Ingredients

Chemical Distribution, Contract Manufacturing & Blending
Foam Control
Wastewater Treatment
Organic Processing
Processed Sulfur

Snapshot of Customer Base

Membrane Fouling

Membrane fouling is a process where solute or particles deposit

onto or are attracted to a membrane surface or into membrane
pores in a way that degrades the membrane systems
performance.
Causes severe flux decline and affects the finish product as well
as the permeate quality.
Severe fouling may require intense chemical cleaning or
membrane replacement. This increases the operating costs of
the filtration systems.

Fouling Effect of Flux Versus Time

Flux

Distilled Water

Normal Performance

High Fouling

Time (hours)

Fouling Dynamics

Feed Stream - Flow

Bulk Solution
Boundary
Layer
CP - Gel Layer

Fouling Layer

Permeate

Spiral Wound Membrane CIP

Product Displace: CIP starts with ensuring the product is displaced
effectively from the system.
Flush: Before CIP to 0%TS to drain
Chemical Recirculation: Number of steps and chemical selection is
dependent upon application.
Rinse after chemical: to near neutral.
Anti-microbial treatment.
Soak: Prevent microbial growth during downtime.

Chemical Reaction
The chemical cleaning is a reaction between
the soil & the chemicals
Dissolving
Chelating
Oxidation
Hydrolysis
Emulsification

Chemistry of Cleaning
Component
on Surface

Solubility
Characteristics

Ease of
Removal

Chemistry Choice

Sugar

Water soluble

Easy

Fat

Water insoluble, alkali soluble

May be
difficult

Alkaline
Surfactant

Protein

Can be very
difficult

Salts

Water insoluble, alkali soluble

especially with chlorine,
slightly acid soluble
Water soluble, acid soluble

Easy

Alkaline
Chlorine
Enzyme
----

Minerals

Water insoluble, acid soluble

Difficult

Acid

Role of Water In Cleaning

Water is one of the most important parts of the cleaning
and represents about 99% of any cleaning solution, with
~1% or less being a cleaning agent

Cleaning Agent

Water

Water Quality
Microbiological contamination should be minimized to prevent
biofouling.
Metals & Silica can form salts which precipitate (ie Fe and Mn)
Iron precipitates can be removed
Silicate precipitates can not be removed

DI, RO or evaporator condensate water is often used for CIP

Evaporator water can cause problems
Often antifoam are used to control the foam in evap. water
There can be protein carry-over in the condensate

Water hardness can cause cleaning issues

A good formulated surfactant/detergent can complex hardness & remove it

Chemistry of Cleaning
The pH Scale

Examples:

14

10,000,000

13
12

1,000,000 Caustic Wash Increasin

g
100,000

11

10,000

A pH of 2 is 100,000
times more acidic
(H+) than a pH of 7.

10

1,000

Membrane Wash

100

10

10

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

1,000,000

10,000,000

Pure Water

Increasing
acid activity
Acid Sanitizer
Acid Wash

A pH of 13 is
1,000,000 times
more active in
alkalinity (OH-) than
a pH of 7.

Alkalinity
Active the Workhorse or active portion of the
cleaner
Inactive the reserve portion of the cleaner
Total Sum of active and inactive
pH maybe at correct range but Alkalinity or
Product Concentration can be low, this could be a
result of using a commodity caustic product
Can be used with Chlorine (UF and MF only)

Generic Alkaline Products

Generic Caustic Products
Product
Concentration
is low at
0.1 0.15%

Concentration

0.25
0.2
0.15

% concentration

0.1
0.05
0
1

8
pH

10 11 12 13 14

Formulated Alkaline Products

pH 10.0-11.0

12
10

pH

6
0.50 %

4
2

0
Concentration %

1.0 %

Alkaline with Chlorine

100
Chlorinated Alkaline
90
Alkaline Only

80
70

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
pH 2.5

pH 3

pH 4

pH 5

pH 7

pH 10

pH 11

pH 12

pH 14

Enzyme Cleaners
A protein catalyst molecule which lowers the
activation energy of a chemical reaction for a
specific substrate.
i.e. protease enzymes catalyze the degradation
of proteins because the target the amino acid
backbone structure as its specific substrate.

Enzyme Cleaners

Acids

pH value less than

7.

Mineral deposits on membrane surface - usually

calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate can
be easily removed with acid cleaners or
chelating agents. The solubility is dependent on
time, temperature and concentration.
Mineral can act as a matrix in which fats,
proteins, carbohydrates can be held together.

Acids

Really Strong Acids

SULFURIC ACID

H2SO4

HYDROCHLORIC (muriatic) ACID

HCl

NITRIC ACID

HNO3

Strong Acids

PHOSPHORIC

H3PO4

Surface Active Agent - Surfactant

Tails

Hydrophobic

Hate

Heads

Hydrophilic

Love

Chemistry of Cleaning
Emulsion Examples

Fig 1. Surfactants

Surface Tension of Water

Surfactants in Membrane Cleaning

Detergency and Soil Suspension

Reduce Surface Tension

Wetting Agent

Lubricant

Emulsifier

Compatible with Other Detergents

Biodegradable

Surfactants

Anionic

Cationic

Nonionic

Good wetting agents

Germicidal Properties

Excellent Wetting Agents

High foaming

Moderate Foaming

High to moderate foaming

Used in Alkaline Solutions

Compatible with Nonionic

Surfactants

Used in Alkaline Solutions

Membrane Compatible
Typically used with RO
and NF Membranes.

NOT compatible with

Anionic Surfactants
NOT compatible with
negatively charged
membranes

Membrane Compatible
Typically used with UF and
MF membranes
Good Degreasers (FOG)

Spiral Wound Microfiltration Membrane

Large average pore size 800K MWCO to 0.2

Relatively wide distribution of pore size
Tend to be more Hydrophobic PVDF membrane material
Run with very low pressure
Chlorine tolerant

Spiral Wound Microfiltration Membrane

De-fatting Whey for WPI production
Soil Type
Protein

Membrane & pore fouling

Enzymatic Cleaners
Chlorinated Alkaline

Fat

Membrane surface fouling

Surfactant
Solvent Based Chemistry

Microbial

Membrane Surface & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Additional Challenges: Colloidal Complexes

Spiral Wound Microfiltration Membrane

Bacteria removal/Casein/Whey Protein
Separation of Skim Milk
Soil Type
Protein

Membrane surface fouling

Enzymatic Cleaners
Chlorinated Alkaline

Fat

Less of an issue

Surfactant
Solvent Based Chemistry

Microbial

Membrane Surface & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Spiral Wound Ultrafiltration Membrane

Pore size range from 2k 100k MWCO

Relatively wide distribution of pore size
Run with low pressure 50 120 psi
Membrane Type PES, PVDF, PAN
Chlorine tolerant

Spiral Wound Ultrafiltration Membrane

Fractionation of whey/de-fatted whey stream
Soil Type
Protein

Membrane surface fouling

Enzymatic Cleaners

Fat

Membrane surface fouling

Surfactant
Solvent Based Chemistry

Microbial

Membrane & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Mineral/Inorganic

Acid

Additional Challenges: Colloidal Complexes, Cheese Fines

Spiral Wound Ultrafiltration Membrane

Fractionation of whole milk/skim milk
Soil Type
Protein

Membrane surface fouling

Enzymatic Cleaners

Fat

Membrane surface fouling

Surfactant

Solvent Based Chemistry

Microbial

Membrane Surface & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Spiral Wound Nanofiltration Membrane

Molecular Weight Cut off 100 1,000 daltons

Thin Film Composite Membrane
Run with higher pressure 100 400 psi
Non chlorine tolerant

Spiral Wound Nanofiltration Membrane

Demineralized Whey
Soil Type
Protein

Membrane Surface

Enzymatic Cleaners

Fat

Membrane Surface

Surfactant
Solvent Based Chemistry

Microbial

Membrane Surface & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Mineral/Inorganic

Calcium Phosphate on Membrane surface

Acid

Spiral Wound Nanofiltration Membrane

Whey UF Permeate Demineralization
Soil Type
Protein

Depends on feed stream composition

Enzymatic Cleaners
Alkaline Cleaners

Microbial

Membrane Surface & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Mineral/Inorganic

Calcium Phosphate on Membrane surface

Additional Challenges: Viscosity of Process Stream

Acid

Spiral Wound Nanofiltration Membrane

High Protein Streams WPI/WPC/MPC
Soil Type
Protein

Membrane Surface

Enzymatic Cleaners

Fat

Less of issue in this application

Surfactant
Solvent Based Chemistry

Microbial

Membrane & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Spiral Wound Reverse Osmosis Membrane

Salt Rejection of 98%+

Thin Film Composite Membrane
Run with high pressure up to 1000 psi
Non chlorine tolerant

Spiral Wound Reverse Osmosis Membrane

Concentration of Whey
Soil Type
Protein

Membrane surface fouling

Enzymatic Cleaners

Fat

Membrane surface fouling

Surfactant
Solvent Based Chemistry

Microbial

Membrane & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Mineral/Inorganic

Acid

Additional Challenges: Colloidal Complexes, Cheese Fines

Spiral Wound Reverse Osmosis Membrane

Concentration of Whey UF Permeate
Soil Type
Protein

Depends on feed stream composition

Enzymatic Cleaners
Alkaline Cleaners

Microbial

Membrane Surface & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Mineral/Inorganic

Calcium Phosphate on Membrane surface

Acid

Additional Challenges: Colloidal Complexes, Cheese Fines

Spiral Wound Reverse Osmosis Membrane

Polishing RO Permeate/Evaporator Condensate
Soil Type
Protein

Depends on feed stream composition

Enzymatic Cleaners

Microbial

Membrane Surface & Permeate Side

Sanitizer
Membrane Soak Organic Acid/MBS

Mineral/Inorganic

Calcium Phosphate on Membrane surface

Acid

Hydrite Chemical Co Membrane Product Range

Category
Acid
Alkaline

Enzyme
Surfactants

Soaks

Products
Bright Solv Acid #167
Nitriplus #196
Reflux #193
Alkabuild #393
HMC #330
Hydriflux NP #366
Hydriflux #380
Reli #391
EnzyClean 10L #386
Enzyterge #400
Hydrizyme #399
Bright Cleanse #321
Detbuild #394
Hydriflux A #371
HydriCleanse #325
Hydrisoak #180

Sanitizer

Hydroxysan PA #480
Hydroxysan #468

Additives

San I King #451

Membrane Additive #531
UltraSolv #580
D-Scale #556

Spiral Wound - Soil Challenges

Thank You
Felicity.plansky@hydrite.com
715-307-5154
www.hydrite.com