Sycamore Process Engineering is delighted to announce it has completed a major upgrade project for Unilever, to replace two existing Clean In Place (CIP) sets, with a new state-of-the-art CIP System to improve their cleaning operations, reduce downtime and lower chemical and water usage.

After a successful tender process, where we showcased our process expertise, project delivery skills and flexibility to provide our customer with an efficient Clean In Place system. Initial work started with finalising the mechanical design that we had proposed in the tender process.

Due to space constraints, our Design Team took an agile approach to designing an efficient system while adhering to footprint and height restrictions. Furthermore, the height limitations required careful planning of the access platforms and walkways to maintain sufficient headroom both above and below the tank access area. This ensures operators and maintenance engineers can safely access the instrumentation and process equipment positioned on the vessels.

During the Process Design phase of this project, significant focus was placed on the versatility of the CIP system, ensuring Unilever had maximum flexibility to run cleans as and when required.

Each tank was fitted with its own recirculation heating and chemical dosing loop. This approach allows every tank to always be fully serviced, heated, and ready to perform cleans. The five CIP delivery channels were equipped with inline heaters, allowing us to trim the final delivery temperature to the exact setpoint required for each clean. There is a balance between operational requirements and OPEX, which is always a careful consideration for our Process Design Team to provide the optimum solution.

This system also included recirculation tanks on the return lines, the main benefits of this is it supports sterilisation routines and prevents allergen contamination by routing allergen-affected returns away from the caustic tank. Resulting in a minimal circuit volume needing to be discharged, reducing chemicals, water, and energy consumption. This approach supports Unilever’s sustainability goal of achieving net zero emissions across its value chain by 2039.Each tank was fitted with its own recirculation heating and chemical dosing loop. This approach allows every tank to always be fully serviced, heated, and ready to perform cleans. The five CIP delivery channels were equipped with inline heaters, allowing us to trim the final delivery temperature to the exact setpoint required for each clean. There is a balance between operational requirements and OPEX, which is always a careful consideration for our Process Design Team to provide the optimum solution.

Due to a high demand for Unilever’s products, there was a limited opportunity to complete this installation. Therefore, the CIP system was fully manufactured, pre-piped and electrically wired in our workshop.

Once the CIP System was fully assembled, in partnership with Unilever we collectively completed a comprehensive Factory Acceptance Test (FAT), ensuring the CIP set and its control system met the required specifications. This process allowed Unilever’s team to review build quality, verify performance, and confirm that every element of the system complies with their operational, hygiene, and safety standards.

The pre-assembly of the CIP system also helped reduce onsite installation time with all pipework being prefabricated, ensuring we were able to safely complete the installation within the allocated time while minimising health and safety risks.

Once on site, the works were delivered under a 24-hour shift pattern, enabling the full decommissioning and safe electro-mechanical removal of the existing CIP sets prior to the installation of the new system. Demanding production schedules required an agile approach to ensure the project remained on track with minimal disruption to ongoing operations.

“I’m proud to see the completed installation and Commissioning of the 5 Channel CIP Set for Unilever Burton. This was a great project to be a part of and has left them with reduced wash times, a large increase in performance and far less chemical and heat usage.” – George Collins, Project Engineer, Sycamore Process Engineering.

Overall, the project was delivered on time, to budget and in full. Providing a modern, efficient, and fully compliant CIP solution that integrated seamlessly into the client’s facility. The system not only improved operational reliability and hygiene control but also supported the site’s long-term production goals with a robust and future-ready design. We’re proud of the collaborative approach taken throughout and look forward to working with Unilever again on future projects.

For more information about CIP sets from Sycamore Process Engineering, click here.