Editorial Technical Reference

CIP chemical dosing unit for detergent and sanitizer strength control

CIP dosing skids · Caustic and acid strength, sanitizer ceilings, conductivity control and recording

A CIP chemical dosing unit is the skid of chemical containers or day tanks, dosing pumps, valves and a controller that tops up the caustic, acid and sanitizer in a clean-in-place system so every circuit is washed at the intended strength. Ask three things first: which concentrations and temperatures your cleaning programmes need, how the unit keeps sanitizer under the regulatory ceiling, and what measurement (conductivity, flow or weight) closes the loop and is recorded.

Dosing skids and satellite units that meter concentrated detergents and sanitizers into CIP tanks or supply lines in dairy, beverage and food plants, with their containers, pumps, injection points, conductivity measurement and controls. Metering pumps as individual machines (diaphragm, plunger, peristaltic and gear types) are covered on the Metering pump page. Flocculant make-up units for drilling or wastewater sludge, and complete CIP stations with their tanks and heat exchangers, are outside this page.

CNFX editorial research · Sources checked October 12, 2026 · 3 sources

Set the strengths Close the loop

Stainless steel rack with five translucent chemical containers on a shelf, blue diaphragm dosing pumps below and tubing to an overhead valve manifold, beside stainless process tanks and pipework — Multi-pump chemical dosing rack beside process tanks

Start with your task

Set the strengthsCaustic and acid. Close the loopConductivity control.

Set the detergent strengths the unit must hold

Tetra Pak's Dairy Processing Handbook gives sodium hydroxide dosed at 0.5–2.0 wt% and nitric acid at 0.5–1.5 wt%, with the exact value set by fouling type and severity and by time, temperature and flow. It warns that excess detergent can cause foaming or make protein fouling harder to remove, raises cost and adds chemical load to sewage. [1]

For a circuit with a pasteurizer or other heated surfaces, the handbook's example programme circulates alkaline detergent at 0.5–2% for about 30 minutes at 75 °C and acid at 0.5–1.5% for about 20 minutes at 70 °C. It advises alkaline cleaning at the product's own temperature but at least 70 °C, and 60–75 °C for acid. [1]

Editorial calculation: raising 2,000 kg of solution to 1.0 wt% NaOH needs 20 kg of NaOH, which is 40 kg of a 50% caustic concentrate; topping up from 0.8 to 1.0 wt% needs about 4 kg of NaOH, or 8 kg of concentrate (ignoring the small dilution by the added concentrate). The concentrate strength is an assumed example. [1]

Give the supplier the number of CIP circuits and tanks, solution volumes, each chemical's trade name, concentration as delivered and safety data sheet, target strengths and temperatures, top-up frequency, and whether chemicals arrive in drums, IBCs or bulk.

Keep sanitizer under the FDA ceilings

FDA's 21 CFR 178.1010 lets sanitizing solutions be used on food-processing equipment provided they are followed by adequate draining before contact with food. Hypochlorite solutions may provide no more than 200 ppm of available halogen determined as available chlorine, and chloroisocyanurate solutions no more than 100 ppm. [2]

The same section limits the alkyl benzyldimethylammonium chloride (quaternary) solution in paragraph (b)(9) to no more than 200 ppm of the active quaternary compound when ready to use, and names peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide mixtures that may also be used on dairy-processing equipment. [2]

Editorial calculation: a sodium hypochlorite concentrate with 12.5% available chlorine reaches 200 ppm at a dilution of 0.125 ÷ 0.0002 = 625, i.e. 1 L of concentrate per 625 L of water; a dosing error of +10% gives 220 ppm, above the ceiling. Concentrate strength is an assumed example; use the supplier's certificate. [2]

Close the loop with conductivity and record it

Tetra Pak describes central CIP stations in which conductivity transmitters control the return of cleaning solutions: conductivity is proportional to the concentrations used in dairy cleaning, and when it falls to a preset value during rinsing a change-over valve diverts the liquid to drain. It lists flow rate, temperature, time and electrical conductivity as critical CIP parameters to monitor and record, and shows decentralised CIP units with dosing pumps and a flowmeter. [1]

JUMO's data sheet for its tecLine Ci hygienic inductive conductivity sensor lists measuring ranges from 0–500 µS/cm to 0–2000 mS/cm depending on transmitter, accuracy of ≤0.5% to ≤1% depending on range, a Pt1000 temperature probe with t90 ≤ 26 s, IP67, medium temperature −10 to +125 °C in operation and up to 150 °C for no more than 60 minutes at ≤5 bar during sterilization, and process pressure of 12 bar at 20 °C falling to 8 bar at 125 °C. Its body is PEEK and the construction conforms to EHEDG. [3]

Concentrate tanks, dosing pumps, injection manifold, flowmeter, conductivity sensor and recorder

Part	Role	Fix in the order
Chemical containers or day tanks	Hold caustic, acid and sanitizer concentrates. [1]	Volumes, bunding, level alarms.
Dosing pumps	Meter concentrate into tanks or lines. [1]	Flow range and turndown per chemical.
Injection valves and manifold	Prevent back-flow; route to circuits.	Materials per chemical.
Flowmeter	Measures dose or circuit flow. [1]	Type and accuracy.
Inductive conductivity sensor	Infers strength; triggers diversion. [1] [3]	Range, temperature compensation.
Controller and recorder	Logs flow, temperature, time, conductivity. [1]	Recipes, alarms, data export.

Concentrate flow, dosing accuracy, sensor range and chemical compatibility for a CIP dosing skid

Judge dosing accuracy against the sanitizer ceilings: FDA allows no more than 200 ppm available chlorine from hypochlorite and 100 ppm from chloroisocyanurates. [2]

Field	What it means and published values	Ask the supplier for
Flow Rate (L/min)	Concentrate flow per pump; from mass balance.	Range per chemical.
Dosing Accuracy (%)	Compare with the margin to the sanitizer ceiling. [2]	Method and test record.
Operating Pressure (MPa)	Injection into pressurised lines.	Maximum discharge pressure.
Operating Temperature (°C)	Sensor medium −10 to 125 °C (JUMO). [3]	Limits per component.
Power Supply (V DC)	Controls and pumps.	Supply.
Power Consumption (W)	Pumps and controls.	Value.
Ingress Protection	JUMO sensor IP67. [3]	Rating for wash-down.
Material (Wetted Parts)	PEEK sensor body (JUMO); others per chemical. [3]	Compatibility list.
Weight (kg)	Skid loading.	Weight.
Dimensions (L×W×H) (mm)	Space and access.	Layout.
Chemical Compatibility	NaOH, nitric acid, sanitizers. [1] [2]	Materials chart.
Control Signal (mA)	Analogue link to CIP controller.	Signals and protocol.

Send the chemical, circuit and control data together

Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.

Chemicals: [trade names; delivered strength; SDS; packaging]
Targets: [caustic %; acid %; sanitizer ppm; temperatures]
Circuits: [number; tank volumes; line sizes]
Control: [conductivity, flow or weight; signals; recording]
Site: [power; space; ventilation; bunding]

See manufacturer records Send an enquiry through CNFX

Buyer questions

What caustic and acid strength does CIP use?

Tetra Pak's Dairy Processing Handbook gives NaOH at 0.5–2.0 wt% and nitric acid at 0.5–1.5 wt%, depending on fouling and other cleaning parameters. [1]

What is the limit for chlorine sanitizer on food equipment?

FDA's 21 CFR 178.1010 limits hypochlorite solutions to 200 ppm available chlorine and chloroisocyanurate solutions to 100 ppm, followed by adequate draining. [2]

How does the unit know the solution strength?

Conductivity is proportional to the concentrations used in dairy cleaning, and transmitters control return and diversion; hygienic inductive sensors such as JUMO's tecLine Ci measure up to 0–2000 mS/cm. [1] [3]

Sources and what still needs a direct check

Sources checked 2026-10-12. Tetra Pak's Dairy Processing Handbook is a processing-equipment maker's reference text. FDA's regulation sets sanitizer limits. JUMO's data sheet describes its own sensor.

Still to check yourself

Confirm target strengths for each circuit.
Check dosing accuracy against the sanitizer ceiling.
Verify conductivity-to-concentration calibration at process temperature.
Confirm materials for each chemical.
Verify the legal supplier and factory.