Dry Ice Blast Cleaning

After initial use of the system, the company saw a 100% removal of all caked-on and baked-on residue, even from the small parts and hard-to-reach areas of the machines. In the food industry, the highest costs are associated with labor. The dry ice blast cleaning system requires only one worker and takes less than one-third of the time previously needed clean all the machines, changes that saved the company nearly 80% of its labor and resources costs. The company also expects an 80% improvement in product life versus water cleaning, eight years longer in the case of the conveyor chain, which has an average cost replacement of $100,000.

Efficiency, Environmental Benefits

In addition to being time consuming, inefficient, and strenuous, conventional cleaning processes, which use water, chemicals, and rigorous scraping and scrubbing can also damage production equipment. Replacing damaged parts results in further production stoppage and downtime.

Cleaning methods can severely alter a food company’s end product. Because food will likely come into contact with any cleaning agents used, all cleaning solutions and methods must be safe. To ensure product safety, the U.S. government has imposed regulations on where chemical solvents can be used—if they can be used at all—and on how water is used for cleaning and where it is disposed of following the cleaning process.

Food companies are also driven by concerns about toxic cleaning chemicals, which pose a health risk to employees, the environment, and the company’s food products. Many companies are focused on implementing ways to reduce their footprints on the environment and operate in more environmentally responsible ways. General Mills, the sixth largest food company in the world, has publicly communicated several ways in which it is working to “advance sustainability around the world while minimizing the impact” that its products and packaging have on the environment.

Part of the company’s sustainability message includes the following efforts:

• reduce water and energy use;
• control air emissions and wastewater discharges from production operations;
• manage potentially hazardous materials properly;
• use recycled content and recyclable materials whenever possible;
• minimize solid and hazardous waste generation;
• prevent spills or releases; and
• support and participate in organizations that promote environmental stewardship and encourage awareness of our shared responsibility for people and the planet.

Nestlé has called water its top priority, aiming “to reduce the amount of water used per kilo of food and beverage” produced, as well as taking care that the water it discharges into the environment is clean.2 Sara Lee is focused on “a LEAN/ Continuous Improvement mind set to relentlessly pursue waste elimination,” and has reduced water consumption at one bakery by “eliminating water-cooled compressors and making our sanitation practices more water efficient.

The Problem With Water

The use of water to clean equipment, to carry the cleaning detergents and sanitizer to the surface and then carry the soils or contaminants away from the surface is common in most food processing companies. The problem with this method is that impurities in the water can drastically alter the effectiveness of the detergent or sanitizer; additionally, any microorganisms in the water will affect the food contact surface. Minerals in the water—and cleaning compounds—can leave behind residue, causing film to form on the machines’ surfaces.

Dry ice blast cleaning leaves behind no residue and produces no secondary waste. Unlike cleaning solvents and chemicals that may be hazardous to the environment, dry ice blast cleaning is an environmentally responsible process, making productive use of otherwise unproductive CO2 and reducing the need for water in the cleaning process. It also eliminates the inconvenience and costliness of wastewater treatment and recycling issues. The dry ice blast cleaning process is a dry process and is, therefore, non-conductive.