Revolutionary Conveyor Washing Station – Automation, Savings, and Sustainability

The modern food industry faces major challenges in ensuring efficient, safe, and regulation-compliant cleaning of production equipment. Traditional methods are inefficient—they consume thousands of liters of water, generate large amounts of wastewater, and require significant manual labor. Solmatic Sp. z o.o. addresses these issues with the innovative Conveyor Washing Station UNI-2018-10-00, a solution that combines automation, precision, and efficiency.

The Problem with Traditional Washing

Currently, conveyor cleaning in food processing plants involves excessive resource consumption. For example, cleaning a single 24-meter conveyor belt can take up to 3 hours and use as much as 5,100 liters of water. With 48 conveyors, that equals over 240,000 liters per day. The process consists of three stages: pre-wash, chemical cleaning, and final rinsing. Each conveyor requires a worker’s presence throughout the entire cycle, increasing labor costs and the risk of error.

Modular Design of the Modern Station

Solmatic’s washing station is designed as a modular system, allowing customization to fit the specific needs of production facilities. It consists of the following main modules:

• Power Module – with a separate water tank, pumps, and heaters
• Chemical Dosing Module – with precise conductivity measurement and automatic dosing
• Washing Module – with three segments covering all cleaning stages
• Drying Module – with blowers and air nozzles to eliminate moisture

These modules operate in an integrated cycle with intelligent water management, reducing water consumption by up to several dozen percent.

Intelligent Water and Chemical Management

The system allows water recirculation, with its quality monitored by conductivity sensors. After the final rinse, the water is reused for the pre-wash. When contamination levels exceed a set threshold, the system discharges the water to the drain and automatically refills the cycle with fresh water.

Chemical dosing is fully automated. Based on sensor readings, the system precisely determines the amount of disinfectants needed to reach the required concentration, delivering significant savings and eliminating human error.

Automation and User Interface

The system’s core is a Siemens SIMATIC S7-1200 PLC with advanced software enabling:

• Selection of washing programs depending on the conveyor type
• Configuration of process parameters (temperature, chemical concentration, duration, etc.)
• Three levels of user access
• Manual control of valves and pumps
• Logging of cleaning history (operator, time, chemicals used, achieved parameters)

The operator panel offers simple and intuitive operation, even for untrained users.

High-Quality Construction

All components that come into contact with water or chemicals are made from acid-resistant stainless steel (316L or 304), ensuring durability and user safety. The pumps and components used come from reputable European manufacturers and are certified for food contact.

Environmental and Economic Impact

The new washing station uses significantly less water and energy compared to traditional methods. An estimated comparison:

Parameter	Traditional Method	UNI-2018-10-00 Station
Water consumption	5100 l/conveyor	< 3000 l/conveyor
Cleaning time	3 hours	< 2 hours
nergy consumption	up to 42,5 kW	significantly lower
Unit cost	~72 PLN	up to 40% savings

 

Lower water and chemical usage means not only reduced operating costs, but also less strain on the environment and industrial drainage systems.

Summary

The UNI-2018-10-00 washing station is a modern, fully automated solution that meets the stringent requirements of the food industry. Its implementation significantly reduces operational costs, improves safety, and ensures consistent cleaning results. Thanks to its modular design, intelligent control, and user-friendly interface, the system can be successfully adopted in a wide range of facilities—from small processing plants to large production lines.

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