Spray device for automated CIP/SIP: sizing the supply to the vessel, placing devices around obstructions and checking steam compatibility
Spray devices in automated CIP/SIP circuits · Supply flow from vessel circumference, 25–30 psi per ball or 60 psi for impingement heads, extra devices behind agitators and baffles, falling film beyond the jets, scavenging the return, and whether steam may pass
This page covers spray devices as part of an automated CIP/SIP circuit in beverage, dairy and bioprocess plants: the static balls and rotary heads fitted inside vessels, seen from the side of the system that feeds, places and drains them. Ask three things first: what supply flow and pressure the vessel's devices need and how the CIP skid and lines will deliver it, the number of devices needed to reach surfaces behind agitators, baffles and nozzles, and whether the device may stay in place during steam sterilization.
Spray devices fitted in vessels served by automated CIP and SIP systems, sized and placed as part of the cleaning circuit. Spray ball types, spray patterns, cleaning diameters by model and riboflavin coverage testing are covered on the Spray ball page, rotary jet heads on the Rotating cleaning head page, the CIP skid on the CIP (clean-in-place) system page, its return pumps on the CIP circulation pump page, and the sterilizing step itself on the Automated CIP/SIP system page. Salt-spray test chambers, process spray nozzles, coating spray guns and agricultural sprayers are outside this page.
CNFX editorial research · Sources checked October 12, 2026 · 3 sources
Supply flow from the vessel's circumference and pressure at every device
Chris McNulty of Sani-Matic, writing in Pharmaceutical Technology, states that the flow and pressure a bioreactor or fermenter needs for CIP are set by its spray devices and process lines. For static spray devices the flow is the vessel circumference in feet multiplied by 3 gpm per foot, so a 3 ft diameter vessel needs about 28 gpm; spray balls need about 25–30 psi each, and where a vessel has more than one, the calculated flow is divided among them with each still receiving 25–30 psi. Impingement spray devices can be sized at 1.5 gpm per foot of circumference at 60 psi or more. [1]
Editorial calculation: 3 gpm per foot of circumference equals about 37 L/min per metre of circumference, or about 117 L/min per metre of vessel diameter. A 2 m diameter tank then needs about 62 gpm (234 L/min, 14 m³/h) through static devices, or about 31 gpm (117 L/min) through impingement heads at 60 psi or more. [1]
The same article sizes process line circuits for 5 ft/s, which is about 10 gpm in a 1 in line and 2 gpm in a 0.5 in line, so a vessel circuit and its line circuits can need quite different flows from the same CIP skid. [1]
Give the supplier the vessel diameter and height, internal parts (agitator, baffles, dip tubes, nozzles), the soil, the CIP skid's pump curve, the line lengths and diameters to each device, the return method, and whether the vessel is steam-sterilized in place.
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Two or three devices to reach the shadows behind agitator shafts and baffles
Pharmaceutical Technology notes that bioreactors can carry two to three spray devices to reach areas shadowed by agitator shafts and baffles, and that impingement devices also need to be multiplied to prevent shadowing. [1] A University of Limerick study built a film-flow rig to replicate the falling film that static CIP nozzles generate on vessel walls, at flows of around 100 L/min per metre of vessel diameter, and points out that this film forms away from the direct impact area of the jets, where mechanical action is much weaker; with its test residue, cleaning combined mechanical lift-off and dissolution. [2]
Alfa Laval describes its Toftejorg SaniMega SB rotary head as a replacement for a static ball that puts liquid impact on the whole tank wall within its 270° up or 360° pattern at a lower flow and equally low pressure, with a maximum wetting radius of 18.7 ft and an impact cleaning radius of 8.9 ft, at 14.5–58.0 psi working pressure and 43.5 psi recommended. [3] Editorial calculation: 117 L/min per metre of diameter from the Sani-Matic rule and around 100 L/min per metre in the Limerick rig are of the same order. [1][2]
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Steam through the device, mounting by clip or weld, and getting the liquid out
Alfa Laval's product sheet for the SaniMega SB lists steam or gas (air) as not supported, asking users to contact Alfa Laval, with a maximum working temperature of 203 °F and a maximum ambient temperature of 302 °F; the head is lubricated by the cleaning fluid, made of AISI 316L with PEEK 450G non-metallic parts at Ra 32 µin, and comes as a clip-on or weld-on 2 in BPE version. The clip-on version passes about 528 gal/h more flow, and the weld-on version meets 3-A Sanitary Standard 78-01 only when installed per the user manual. [3]
Editorial calculation: 528 gal/h is about 33 L/min or 2 m³/h, which the CIP supply must cover when clip-on heads are used. [3]
On the return side, Pharmaceutical Technology calls for a return method such as a sanitary liquid ring pump or an eductor that can evacuate water and air, because liquid pooling in the vessel is detrimental to cleaning; the pump choice is covered on the CIP circulation pump page. [1]
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Send the vessel, the CIP circuit and the SIP step together
Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.
Vessel: [diameter; height; internals]
Soil: [product; residue]
Devices: [static or rotary; count; positions]
Supply: [flow; pressure at each device; line sizes]
Return: [pump; eductor; drain]
SIP: [steam through device or not; temperature]
Explore company information and manufacturing capabilities, then discuss the scope of your project with a relevant supplier.
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Compiled and source-reviewed by the CNFX editorial team.
Each manufacturer above links to the page on that company's own website where the product is listed, with the date we checked it. How we source and review
· Page last updated 13 October 2026
Buyer questions
How much CIP flow does a static spray device need?
Sani-Matic's rule in Pharmaceutical Technology is 3 gpm per foot of vessel circumference, about 28 gpm for a 3 ft vessel, with 25–30 psi at each spray ball. [1]
Why do vessels need more than one spray device?
Agitator shafts and baffles shadow parts of the wall, so bioreactors can carry two to three spray devices to reach those areas. [1]
Can steam pass through a rotary spray head during SIP?
Not without checking: Alfa Laval lists steam or gas as not supported for its SaniMega SB rotary head and asks users to contact it. [3]
Sources and what still needs a direct check
Sources checked 2026-10-12. A Sani-Matic author in Pharmaceutical Technology gives CIP sizing rules; a University of Limerick study describes falling-film cleaning; Alfa Laval publishes its own spray head data.
