Patent ID: 7888131

Claim:
A method for analyzing a fluid residual product in a cleaning system, the fluid residual product consisting of a rinsing or a cleaning solution and a product removed from equipment used in a manufacturing system for the product, with additional steps of determining the amount of said fluid residual product being delivered to one of at least two destinations, comprising the steps of (a) deaerating a flow of said fluid residual product, (b) thereafter continuously measuring a full flow (Q) of fluid residual product per short time unit (dt) at a predetermined location in the cleaning system, (c) continuously measuring per the same short time unit (dt) a magnitude (C) corresponding to the content(s) of product in the fluid residual product at said predetermined location in the cleaning system, (d) determining, based on said measurements, an amount of product (Q′) that flows through said predetermined location per the same short time unit (dt), where Q′=C*Q, (e) calculating the total amount (V tot ) of product that flows through said predetermined location by integration of the expression Q′dt for a selected time period (t 0 −t 1 ), (f) reporting said amount (V tot ) of product as product loss from the manufacturing system during a selected time period (t 0 −t 1 ), (g) calculating the volume (V′) of a piece of conduit between a flow meter and a boundary valve, (h) calculating time (t′) for the fluid residual product to flow from the flow meter to the boundary valve by the use of an iterative calculation starting at the time (t g ) when said boundary valve closes/opens, and by the use of product of the flow rate (Q) and corresponding short time interval (dt), i.e., the formula Q*dt unit this product is equal to or greater than V′, (i) calculating the time (t′ g ) when the boundary valve closes/opens adjusted for the distance between the flow meter and the boundary valve, (j) calculating the time periods for delivery (t 0 −t g and t g −t 1 ) to the respective destinations, (k) determining the partial amount of the fluid residual product to each of said respective destinations, and (l) reporting said partial amount of fluid residual product to each of said respective destinations.