Equipment cleaning disassembly

In China, heptachlor was produced mainly between 1967 and 1969. The accumulative output was 17 MT. Thereafter, small-scale heptachlor production continued until 1978, when it was stopped due to high toxicity and poor environmental condition at the production sites. In 1978, the heptachlor-producing equipment was disassembled, and the sites were cleaned up. Currently, heptachlor is generated as a by-product of chlor-dane production. 

Equipment should be carefiiUy and completely degreased and passivated with low concentrations of fluorine or the gaseous halogen fluoride before use. Special care should be taken that valves are completely disassembled and each part carefiiUy cleaned. 

In the food production and OTC (Over the Counter) Drug industries, like milk, soups, cough syrup, and juices, outside balanced seals are quite popular. Their design permits easy cleaning of the equipment without pump disassembly. These seals are prominent in the chemical processing industry because all metal components in the seal are located outside the fluid. This avoids problems of galvanic eorro.sion. 

A description in sufficient detail of the methods, equipment, and materials used in cleaning and maintenance operations, and the methods of disassembling and reassembling equipment as necessary to assure proper cleaning and maintenance ... 

CIP systems are commonly used to eliminate environmental and personnel exposure to the contaminant. They are effective when the shutdown and disassembly of equipment in production would impact manufacturing efficiency. They are also used to improve the consistency and reproducibility of the cleaning process. 

COP is used to describe the removal, disassembly, and opening of process equipment and systems for cleaning in other than its normal operating conditions. Care should be taken to minimize environmental exposure leading to cross-contamination and personnel interference. 

The third category of equipment SOPs describes maintenance. These SOPs are similar in nature except that they relate specifically to equipment used in production and testing. Highlights of these procedures include preventive maintenance by lubrication, replacement of worn parts, disassembly and cleaning, oil and filter changes, and inspection of problems. 

Evaluation of cleaning procedures themselves—Many companies prefer to perform a prevalidation study (often referred to as a process capability study or engineering run ) to verify that the cleaning procedure is satisfactory prior to the actual validation runs. This is an excellent opportunity to determine if the cleaning procedures are adequately written. On some occasions, cleaning procedures are not detailed enough and may not provide enough information about, for example, the extent of disassembly of the equipment. If left to interpretation, there is the possibility that different operators may interpret the instructions differ-... 

Extraction equipment can be cleaned by extraction of blank samples using the same method as that for the real samples. For example, PLE cells used for phthal-ates (Clausen et al., 2004) and PAHs (Jensen, Kofoed-S0rensen and Clausen, 2005b) have been cleaned including all accessories, filters, sand, etc., by a PLE method identical to the one used for extracting the real samples. Disassembled PLE extraction cells can be cleaned by sonication in acetone for at least 5 minutes. The purity of the extrachon equipment is verified by analysis of the blank extract and should be compared with the limits of detection. 

Disassembly and Isolation. This involves preparation of the equipment for application of the cleaning solu-tion(s). Disassembly may involve complete disassembly for washing individual parts elsewhere, or may involve... 

As more restrictions on product preservatives have been set in the last 10 years, more instances of microbial contamination have appeared and liquid detergent process equipment and operations have approached those used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Process equipment is being installed to a more sanitary level, which means easier to clean and disinfect. Predominantly the equipment is designed for cleaning in place (CIP) without the need to disassemble. This chiefly means that surfaces are polished, circulation dead spaces are avoided, and drainage is virtually perfect. Usually the equipment is washed with alkaline and acid solutions, and then with a disinfectant solution. Additional equipment to handle and recirculate disinfectant solutions becomes part of the system design. 

When required, all equipment should be disassembled and thoroughly cleaned to preclude the carry over of drug residues from previous operations. Adequate records of such procedures should be maintained. 

CIP systems should be subjected to cleaning validation studies to ensure that they provide consistent and reprodudbie results. When practical, equipment in CIP systems should be disassembled during deaning validation to facilitate inspection and sampling of inner product surfaces for residues or contamination, even though the equipment is not normally disassembled during routine use. 

The electron-impact source is the work horse of analytical mass spectrometry. It is efficient, durable, and capable of producing a steady, intense beam of positive ions. Like all instruments, it must be periodically disassembled and cleaned, in addition to being equipped with a new filament. However, a well cared-for source may operate for 6 months or more. 

Quite another problem is the cleaning of inaccessible interior surfaces of equipment such as boilers, heat exchangers, pipelines, and tanks. These items are too big to be handled or disassembled. The equipment to be cleaned becomes the containing vessel when solvents are pumped in by means of special truck-mounted tanks, pumps, mixers, and heaters. 

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