Development of a dairy fouling model to assess the efficacy of cleaning procedures using alkaline and enzymatic products

Abstract

Dairy fouling is defined as the accumulation of thermally insulating materials or deposits from process fluids which are especially formed on heat transfer surfaces. The selection of suitable cleaning strategies to remove dairy fouling requires the understanding of its composition and the relationships with the surfaces where it is formed. For the industry, the development of novel strategies to test cleaning products, as well reducing water and energy consumption during the dairy processing operations is of enormous interest. The results showed the development of a laboratory-milk fouling model (MFM) with an average content of 52.8 mg/cm2 of fouling in the test coupons. Seven different cleaners were tested with a fouling removal effectiveness of between 55% and 97%. Additionally, for evaluating the cleaning process of the model, the turbidity of the cleaning solutions was assessed. We presented an enzymatic alternative to the use of traditional cleaning products, with a similar efficacy against the dairy fouling. 78% of fouling removal after the use of enzymatic solution, in comparison to the 72% of fouling removal after the use of alkaline cleaning products. A reduction in water (−33.3%) and temperature (−28.5%), as well as shorter cleaning times (−33%) than its chemical alternative, was observed.