Dairy Fermentation Tank Maintenance and Care: Complete Guide

Dairy Fermentation Tank Maintenance and Care Guide

Maintenance Steps and Inspection Points

1. If air inlet pipe and water outlet pipe joints leak and tightening does not resolve the issue, add or replace packing material.
2. Pressure gauges and safety valves should be regularly inspected. Promptly replace or repair if faults are found.
3. When cleaning the fermentation tank, use a soft brush for scrubbing. Do not use hard tools for scraping to avoid damaging the tank surface.
4. Supporting instruments should be calibrated annually to ensure normal operation.
5. Electrical equipment, instruments, and sensors must never directly contact water or steam to prevent moisture damage.
6. When equipment stops operation, promptly clean thoroughly, drain remaining water from the tank and all pipelines. Loosen tank lid and handhole screws to prevent permanent deformation of sealing rings.
7. Carbon steel equipment such as operation platforms and constant temperature water tanks should be painted regularly (annually) to prevent rust.
8. Frequently check the reducer oil level. If lubricant is insufficient, replenish promptly.
9. Regularly replace reducer lubricant to extend its service life.
10. If the fermentation tank will be temporarily unused, perform empty sterilization and drain all remaining water from the tank and pipelines.

Sterilization Operations

Standard Sterilization Procedure

1. Remove motor and place flat on table. Place black protective cap on top of tank.
2. Remove temperature sensor from tank. The sensor does not need sterilization.
3. Remove pH cable and cover with red protective cap. pH electrode must be inserted to the bottom. Ensure both upper and lower fixing nuts are tightened. pH electrode must be calibrated before sterilization.
4. Sterilization mode: The jacket circulation pump drives internal DI water circulation. Heat exchange plate heats water in jacket, raising medium temperature in tank. When temperature reaches 121 deg C, maintain for 30 minutes. Then cool through cold exchange plate, supplemented with sterilized filtered air to prevent vacuum formation during cooling.

Formaldehyde Disinfection Procedure

1. Thoroughly clean the fermentation tank first.
2. Add formaldehyde solution at 1/10,000 of tank volume.
3. Execute standard sterilization procedure: raise tank temperature to 85 deg C and maintain for 30 minutes.
4. During temperature maintenance, continuously open and close various small exhausts.
5. After maintenance ends, drain condensate and add drinking water at 90% of tank volume.
6. Raise tank temperature to 120 deg C and maintain for 20-30 minutes.
7. After temperature drops, drain water and finally rinse thoroughly with drinking water.

Correct Use After Sterilization

1. Connect pH electrode plug, connect bottom cooling water pipe and condenser cooling water pipe at air outlet. Place silicone tubes on corresponding peristaltic pumps.
2. Place stirring motor on stirring linkage device.
3. Set cursor to Temperature mode and set appropriate temperature.
4. Calibrate dissolved oxygen electrode full scale.

Important Safety Notes

• Never open observation windows or touch internal moving parts during operation
• If inspection is necessary, use specialized tools only after equipment is completely stopped and cooled
• Regular CIP cleaning of the entire system ensures hygiene standards for dairy fermentation
• pH electrode calibration must be done before each sterilization cycle