Cleaning, washing, rinsing

To remove contaminants in various processes, water or other cleaning liquids are sprayed over a product or surface. The washing process is optimised by choosing the right type of spray nozzle, and by directing the spray in the best way over the target area.

Type of soil

Soils are classified into three categories, narrowing down the type of cleaning/washing nozzle to consider for a specific application.

Light

Application examples - powder mixers, liquid chemicals, food and vegetables.

Soil is liquid residue or light powder and not anchored to the surface and can easily be wiped away.
Spray impact is not a significant factor.

Medium

Application examples - conveyor belts, machine parts, oils, paints, adhesives, cooking kettles, and fermentation tanks.

Soil is anchored to the surface or product.
Strategy of impact, temperature, and chemicals necessary to remove soil.
Repeated wetting, impact, and some chemicals required to remove soils.
This type of soil often requires washing with some impact followed by rinsing in order to achieve a good result.

Heavy

Application examples - paints, varnish, asphalt, molasses, printing inks, tars, heavy chemicals.

Soil is heavily caked-on the surface.
Longer dwell time aids the cleaning process
Spray impact breaks soil off surface.
Solid jet streams are commonly used for this type of washing process.

Factors to consider to optimise the cleaning process

A uniform spray coverage provides consistent and repeatable results, maximizing the impact and use of the cleaning media.

High volumes of cleaning fluids or high operating pressures are used to maximize the impact of the washing process for hard-to-clean residues. In other applications, a quick rinse may be enough to achieve good results.

Application details and requirements

Size, area and shape to be washed
Type of soil to be removed - light, medium or heavy
Temperature and chemical composition of wash fluid
How much space is available for mounting the washing solution?
For internal washing of e.g. bottles, the size of the opening is important when choosing a nozzle.

Available/desired flow rate

The objective is to achieve an effective washing process, whilst minimising costs of treating or disposing of wastewater.

Pressure drop (∆P) across the spray nozzle

∆P = supply pressure at nozzle inlet – process pressure outside nozzle

Project review and proposed solution

To deliver the optimal solution, it is important to go through in detail various factors that affect product choice, type of solution, investment objective, and other requirements at an early stage of the project.

Robin Ryberg Spray nozzles & systems, Tank cleaning I look forward to providing product advice and solutions! Let's meet via a video call or a site visit. You can also phone or email us, of course.

Linda Caporicci Column internals, Droplet separation, Spray nozzles & systems, Other products I look forward to providing product advice and solutions! Let's meet via a video call or a site visit. You can also phone or email us, of course.

Hans Linder Spray nozzles & systems, Tank cleaning, Safety showers, Tank storage equipment I look forward to providing product advice and solutions! Let's meet via a video call or a site visit. You can also phone or email us, of course.

Alexander Bergman Droplet separation, Column internals, Spray nozzles & systems, Tank cleaning I look forward to providing product advice and solutions! Let's meet via a video call or a site visit. You can also phone or email us, of course.

Sol Millerv Dust control, Spray nozzles & systems, Tank cleaning I look forward to providing product advice and solutions! Let's meet via a video call or a site visit. You can also phone or email us, of course.

A start-up meeting is important to find out about various factors that will affect choice of equipment and solution in order to achieve the most efficient and sustainable solution. We are happy to set up the start-up meeting as a web meeting or a site visit, depending on your preference. All details and information from the start-up meeting we will summarise and go through with you to make sure we agree on project scope and objective.

Next step, we present a proposed solution, focusing on function, lifespan, quality, choice of material, operating and maintenance costs, and environmental impact. Our goal is to deliver a sustainable solution that creates added value to your company,