ENHANCING THE EFFICIENCY OF SPIRAL CONVEYOR BELT CLEANING USING ULTRASONIC TECHNOLOGY
Keywords:
Cleaning, Spiral Conveyor Belt, Wire Mesh Belt, UltrasoundAbstract
In the food industry, particularly in processing fresh-cut and frozen chicken products, the
European Union (EU) is a major export market with stringent hygiene and food safety standards.
Maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene of production equipment is crucial. Spiral conveyor belts, commonly used in chicken processing, often accumulate grease, oil, starch, and chicken residues,
which can harbor microorganisms. Nowadays, high-pressure water jetting combined with cleaning
agents is widely used but has several limitations. This study introduces ultrasonic cleaning technology
to examine the effects of the cleaning medium type, medium temperature, and cleaning duration
on cleaning efficacy. Experimental results show that using ultrasonic technology at a frequency of 40 kHz,
power of 200 watts, and RO water at 55 °C can fully clean a 15.75 meter conveyor belt in 4.5
minutes. When applied to a 350 meter conveyor belt, cleaning time is reduced from 100 minutes
to 50 minutes, increasing production capacity by approximately 63 tons per month and saving water
costs. This demonstrates that ultrasonic cleaning technology is highly efficient and can be practically
implemented in industrial settings.
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