Starmotion Pigging System: Pipeline Product Recovery for F&B and Pharmaceutical Lines

In any processing line, after pumping a batch there is still a layer of product adhering to the pipe wall and pooling at joints. For pipelines tens of meters long, this residue can amount to several tens of liters per changeover. If flushed away with wash water, the plant loses material and increases the wastewater treatment load.

The pigging system solves this problem by launching a soft pig that fits snugly inside the pipe bore and propelling it with compressed air or with the product behind it. The pig sweeps the product layer from the pipe wall and pushes it to a recovery point, returning that material to the current batch or the next one. At the end of its travel the pipe is largely pre-cleaned before entering the CIP cycle, so water and cleaning chemical consumption is also reduced.

Starmotion is the pigging system within Definox’s automation valve and systems range, alongside the Sorio actuator head and tank-top modules. The pig is launched and retrieved at dedicated stations positioned at either end of the pipeline. Sensors confirm pig position while sanitary valves on the line direct the propulsion air flow and recovered product flow in the correct sequence.

Because the system handles food and pharmaceutical products, all pipework, pigs, and associated valves comply with hygienic standards: AISI 316L stainless steel material, smooth dead-space-free surfaces, self-draining design, and CIP/SIP compatibility. After product recovery, the pipeline and pig are cleaned in a closed loop to meet EHEDG/3-A requirements in the same way as the rest of the sanitary line.

Pigging delivers strong value for thick, sticky, high-value fluids and lines that undergo multiple changeovers per day. Every liter of sauce, cream, or lotion recovered adds directly to material yield, while wash water savings reduce operating costs and wastewater treatment.

Conversely, for thin and inexpensive fluids such as water or dilute solutions, the capital cost of a pigging system is typically not proportionate to the recoverable volume. A survey of viscosity, pipeline length, and changeover frequency should therefore always precede the decision to implement.

A pigging line does not operate in isolation but is tied to the sanitary valve system on the pipeline. Butterfly valves DPX/DPX3 and ball valve DBX handle on/off switching and flow diversion; mix-proof valves VEOX and NEOS keep product flow and CIP flow separate when multiple batches run in parallel. The entire line operates manually or pneumatically and meets EHEDG/3-A standards depending on the valve range.

For automation, the Sorio actuator head (AS-i/IO-Link, IP67, optional ATEX) reports position feedback for each valve and coordinates the pigging sequence with the CIP cycle. When the pig completes its run, the system automatically shifts to the cleaning step without manual intervention, reducing errors and shortening downtime between batches.