Alfa Laval Free Rotating Retractor cleaning-in-place device

Preventing contamination is a crucial element in the design of hygienic processing lines, yet manufacturers often face uncertainty when cleaning ducts, tanks and other confined spaces with hard-to-reach shadow areas. The Alfa Laval Free Rotating Retractor, a high-efficiency retractable cleaning device, has been designed to enhance product safety while boosting uptime and productivity, making it easy to prepare hygienic vessels quickly and economically so that all interior surfaces are clean and ready for production.

The retractable cleaning-in-place device remains sealed off from the product area during production, flush with the vessel wall. The spray head slides out, expelling cleaning media in a 310° spray pattern across the vessel surface. Upon completion of the cleaning cycle, the spray head retracts and the vessel is production-ready.

The product quickly and effectively removes residues from the interior surfaces of hard-to-clean vessels, limiting cross-contamination, minimising downtime and increasing productivity. It complies with FDA, EU and China regulations while securing good manufacturing and hygiene practices at dairy, food, beverage, home and personal care, and other processing facilities. For high-purity pharmaceutical and biotechnology processing lines, the Free Rotating Retractor UltraPure is available.

Dynamic and resource-efficient, the cleaning device is said to deliver up to 35% savings in water, chemicals and time for every CIP cycle compared to conventional static spray ball technology. Moreover, more efficient use of resources enhances sustainability throughout manufacturing operations. The product is easy and economical to install, operate and maintain due to its streamlined construction; to fully automate operation, pair two or more of the cleaning devices and Alfa Laval ThinkTop sensing and control units with an existing CIP system.