WO2016193943A1

WO2016193943A1 - Method and equipment for washing

Info

Publication number: WO2016193943A1
Application number: PCT/IB2016/053273
Authority: WO
Inventors: Maurizio Cosolo; Matteo BORGHI
Original assignee: IWT Srl
Current assignee: IWT Srl
Priority date: 2015-06-05
Filing date: 2016-06-03
Publication date: 2016-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 2017-12-05

Abstract

An equipment for washing cages and/or components thereof is described, adapted for use in the life science or pharmaceutical preclinical research field, comprising: - a first wash module (2), adapted to generate a high-pressure jet of wash water at ambient temperature directed towards said cages and/or components thereof, in order to remove dirt; - a second rinse module (3), downstream of said first module, comprising a second system for generating a jet of rinse water at ambient temperature mixed with ozone gas, directed towards said cages and/or components thereof.

Description

METHOD AND EQUIPMENT FOR WASHING

DESCRIPTION

Field of application of the invention

The present invention relates to a method and equipment for carrying out the method for washing cages and components thereof, adapted for the application in research centers in the life sciences or pharmaceutical preclinical research fields.

Background art

The prior art for washing materials and devices which are normally found in animal enclosures of research centers in the life science field is based on the use of water with predetermined concentrations of detergents, depending on the nature of the dirt to be removed and at predetermined temperatures.

The formulation of detergents, which may be acid or alkaline based, usually includes a very aggressive basic chemical component (such as phosphoric acid or citric acid for acid compounds or potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide for alkaline compounds).

The detergent is intended to facilitate the dissolution of dirt present on the objects to be washed (such as housing cages for research animals, lids, feed containment grids, etc.) to make the mechanical removal of the same easier by means of appropriate sprayer nozzles. The detergent is also intended to remove the unpleasant smell of excrement and food that the animals leave in the cages.

The nozzles, whose working pressures usually reach low values (1.5 - 2.5 bar max) are supplied by a centrifugal pump that withdraws the bath, previously prepared with the detergent, from the tank of the washing machine to spray it on the load.

The washing bath temperature also plays an important role in achieving an acceptable cleaning result. The detergent alone would not be sufficient if the bath were not brought to a temperature such as to promote the softening of the dirt and the chemical action of the detergent. These temperatures can reach even high values depending on the washing cycle step.

A washing cycle in fact consists of several steps that are summarized hereinafter:

Preparing the washing bath in the machine tank

Loading the material to be washed into the machine Wash step using water and detergent at temperature (usually 55-75 °C) Final rinse step using water only at temperature (usually 82-95 °C)

Step of extraction of the vapors generated in the washing chamber during the cycle Unloading the material from the washing machine

- Restoring the concentration of the washing bath detergent to return it to ideal conditions

The use of higher temperatures, in the wash and rinse steps, is dictated by the need to obtain, in addition to a visual cleaning of the load, also a microbiological reduction of the bacterial load that is unavoidably present in the dirt residues accumulated by the animals on the surfaces of the cages and accessories thereof.

In the reference field (life sciences or pharmaceutical preclinical research), these washing cycles are called "Thermal Disinfection" and allow obtaining a temperature of 82 °C on the surfaces of the objects to be washed. This temperature value is internationally recognized as an index of acceptability in the reduction of the bacterial load.

It is immediately clear, from the analysis of the current washing methodology, that the costs for the energy used to carry out a washing cycle are increasingly important as the bath volumes, detergent concentrations and temperatures increase.

The energy is supplied to the washing bath by means of heat exchangers which are crossed by a primary fluid (usually vapor provided by the end user of the system) or alternatively by means of electric resistances.

Moreover, using washing machines that work with baths at a temperature higher than the ambient temperature also means generating heat dispersion in the washing area, thereby forcing the user to condition the environment. Therefore, the energy used for the washing steps must be added to the energy used to supply the conditioning systems.

Another aspect common to all known machines, working with hot baths, is the need to connect the washing chamber of the machine with the external environment by means of ducts and centrifugal fans that the end of the cycle aspire the vapors generated during the washing steps to facilitate opening the door of the chamber by the operator and prevent hazardous releases of hot fumes.

This results in a further need of energy that is dissipated, as well as an additional cost to implement the extraction duct. Using detergents involves other problems.

As mentioned above, since the detergents are based on aggressive chemicals, with a continuous use they deteriorate the machine parts in contact with the washing bath, particularly the seals of valves, pumps and pipes that are made of elastomers.

In addition to the cost of the detergent, the cost for treating the water discharged must also be considered. Nowadays, in almost all industrialized countries, it is increasingly frequent to require that the discharge water be neutralized, checking its pH value before outputting it to the drain and keeping the temperature of the water discharged to values below predetermined thresholds.

The neutralization is carried out by adding a chemical product to the water to be discharged with a pH value opposite to that of the washing bath, while cold water is added to the bath to reduce the temperature with automated control systems. All of this implies high operating and investment costs for the user.

Finally, the environmental impact should not be forgotten, since if on the one hand the pH is returned to the required values, on the other hand the overall polluting load is greater. Summary of the invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to propose a method and equipment for carrying out the method for washing cages and components thereof, adapted for the application in research centers in the life sciences or pharmaceutical preclinical research fields, aimed at overcoming all the drawbacks mentioned above.

Cages refers herein in particular to plastic cages for housing research animals used in research centers in the life science or pharmaceutical preclinical research field. The cages and the components thereof are usually of solid consistency, such as to prevent alterations in the washing process.

The cages generally include a base body, a cover and other internal components such as grids, feeders, etc.

The method subject of the invention essentially includes a wash step using a high-pressure jet of water at ambient temperature, followed by a rinse step with jet of water at ambient temperature mixed with ozone gas.

What is achieved by the present invention is a washing method and equipment characterized by low energy consumption and operating costs. The object of the present invention is a method and equipment for carrying out the method for washing cages and components thereof, adapted for the application in research centers in the life sciences or pharmaceutical preclinical research fields.

A particular object of the present invention is a method for washing cages and/or components thereof, adapted for use in the life science or pharmaceutical preclinical research field, comprising in succession:

- a first step of washing said cages and/or components thereof with a high-pressure jet of water only at ambient temperature;

- a second step of rinsing said cages and/or components thereof with a jet of water at ambient temperature mixed with ozone gas.

A further object of the present invention is an equipment for washing cages and/or components thereof, adapted for use in the life science or pharmaceutical preclinical research field, comprising:

- a first wash module, adapted to generate a high-pressure jet of wash water at ambient temperature directed towards said cages and/or components thereof, in order to remove dirt;

- a second rinse module, downstream of said first module, comprising a second system for generating a jet of rinse water at ambient temperature mixed with ozone gas, directed towards said cages and/or components thereof.

A particular object of the present invention is a method and equipment for carrying out the method for washing cages and components thereof, adapted for the application in research centers in the life sciences or pharmaceutical preclinical research fields, as better described in the claims that form an integral part of the present description.

Brief description of the figures

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof (and of variants thereof) and with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are merely illustrative and non-limiting, in which:

figure 1 shows a functional block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the equipment object of the invention;

figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of the equipment including a wash module and a rinse module;

figure 3 shows a section of the wash module highlighting the type of jet of the wash water; figures 4 and 5 show an exemplary embodiment of the cage handling system within the wash module, with and without cages, respectively;

figure 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of the cage retaining system within the wash module;

figure 7 shows a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the system for generating and mixing the ozone to the rinse water;

figure 8 shows two views of the part of the wash module filtration system which includes a conveyor belt of the dirt resulting from the washing of the cages.

The same reference numerals and letters in the figures identify the same elements or components.

Detailed description of exemplary embodiments

As mentioned above, the subject method of the invention essentially comprises a wash step using a high-pressure jet of water at ambient temperature, followed by a rinse step with jet of water at ambient temperature mixed with ozone gas.

The cages and the components thereof may also be generically referred to as objects hereinafter, for reasons of brevity.

The cleaning result is obtained in the washing step with high-pressure jets of water on the objects to be washed without any detergent and at room temperature. The pressures involved are on average in the order of ten times the pressures normally involved on machines that use the known technique. The high impact strength of the bath on the dirty surfaces is able to remove the solid parts without the use of detergents and of high temperature values.

However, the high pressure of the jet of water is not sufficient to complete the wash cycle: the necessary microbiological decontamination would not be guaranteed; visually, the object may look clean but the bacteria load is still present.

The goal of a complete wash cycle, namely the mechanical removal of dirt and microbiological disinfection, is achieved by making the wash step be followed by a rinse step with a water and ozone gas solution. Ozone, due to its strong oxidizing power, is able to break large macromolecular components that are at the basis of the vital integrity of bacterial cells, fungi, protozoa, viruses and other contaminants.

To make the ozone reach all the contaminated parts of the object to be washed, ozone itself is put into solution in clean water used for rinsing.

Therefore, jets of water mixed with ozone at a proper concentration of the latter are to be directed on the objects to be rinsed.

Values of ozone concentration in water equal to 5.5-6 ppm have shown by practical tests that the logarithmic reduction of the bacterial load is equivalent but even higher than that obtained using baths that contain high temperature values and detergents.

The expression "logarithmic reduction of the bacterial load", which is carried out in the laboratory for the various microorganisms, identifies the percent deactivation of the microorganism with respect to the starting conditions, such as: 1 log reduction = 90% deactivation; 2 log reduction = 99% deactivation; 3 log reduction = 99.9% deactivation; 4 log reduction = 99.99% deactivation.

Ozone also has the advantage of being able to neutralize unpleasant odors that would remain on the surfaces when using baths at ambient temperature without detergents.

The high pressure jet of wash water requires that the objects placed inside the washing chamber are suitably secured to prevent them from being moved or overturned due to the hydraulic thrust; in addition, the jet should encounter no obstacles in the path towards the objects to be washed.

Moreover, the ozone dissolved in water that is sprayed on the objects in the rinse step is released but must be contained to prevent dispersions in the workplace. In fact, at certain concentrations, ozone may be harmful to the health of the people present. For this reason, the rinsing chamber where ozone is used is preferably of the sealed type.

The diagram shown in figure 1 is an example of washing machine according to the present invention.

The machine is of the "tunnel" type, consisting of a wash module and a rinse module, each with its own conveyor belt, upon which the objects to be washed are loaded and transported, and it comprises:

- a loading area 1 of the objects to be washed, - a wash module 2,

- a rinse module 3, and

- an unloading area 4 of the washed and decontaminated objects.

A non-limiting example of configuration of the equipment is shown in figure 2.

The wash module 2 comprises a bath collection tank 5, a high-pressure centrifugal pump 6 and a set of sprayer nozzles 7 of the wash water.

The wash module 2 further comprises a filtration system 8, adapted to prevent the solid parts of the dirt removed from the load from creating problems to the high-pressure centrifugal pump 6, which is provided with very small fluid passage channels, with respective small sprayer nozzles 7 for spraying water.

Pump 6 is high pressure since it allows determining the pressure values which, as mentioned above, are of the order of 10 times higher than the values normally used for washing machines in this field.

In traditional machines, the pressure values range from 1.5 to 2.5 bar, while in the "high- pressure" pump described above, the pressure values can be of the order of 20-25 bar.

The high-pressure centrifugal pump 6 supplies the sprayer nozzles 7, placed on translating rods 9 and suitably sized to ensure the flow rate and the required pressure of the wash water (figure 3).

Rods 9 translate with a motion on a horizontal axis perpendicular to their own axis. The stroke of the rods is obtained by means of a pneumatic cylinder 10.

The shape of the nozzles is such as to supply a flat cone jet of water 1 1.

Said measures ensure the coverage of the objects to be washed from the jets at each point of the surfaces affected by dirt.

The diagram in figure 3 shows a cross section of the conveyor belt 12 with cages 13 to be washed placed thereon, the geometry of jet 1 1 of the flat cone nozzles and the central position of the pneumatic cylinder 10 for the translation of rods 9.

Moreover, with reference to figures 3, 4, 5 9, the translating rods are placed below the support surface of the cages to be washed on the conveyor belt 12. To make the jet coming out from the nozzles pass through the conveyor belt, the latter is shaped as a set of parallel straps 14, placed at a certain mutual distance, which are connected to two rollers 15, 16 of which one is driving and the other is idle. The position of the nozzles on the translating rods is established in such a way that the jet passes in the empty space between the straps and therefore is not interrupted by the presence of the straps themselves, and fully reaches the surface to be washed without deviations. Preferably, the sizing of the components of the conveying and washing system depends on the size of the cages to be washed.

Multiple parallel translating rods may be provided, imposing a longitudinal useful stroke on each of them which depends on the size of a row of cages to be washed. In fact, as shown in figure 2-4, the cages are placed on the conveyor belts in parallel rows. In this case, the number of rods will be equal to the number of rows of cages which can be introduced together in the wash and rinse modules.

The filtration system 8 is of the self-cleaning and continuous operation type to cope also with extremely heavy load conditions. In fact, substantial amounts of litter impregnated with food and excrement, in particular stuck on the bottom, remain in the objects to be washed, such as cages for housing research animals, even after the emptying thereof, and this must be removed in the washing procedure.

The filtration system then preferably comprises a conveyor belt 17 (figures 1, 8) with very fine mesh, placed below the sprayer nozzles 7 and above the collection tank 5. The belt lets the washing bath pass while retaining the solid parts removed from the cages by means of the jet of water.

The conveyor belt 17 is preferably made with a plastic fine mesh net, with mesh of for example 355 μπι.

The belt carries the dirty solid parts to an end where a scraping blade (scraper) 18 detaches them from the filtering surface and makes them fall into a collection vessel 22. The larger solid parts also naturally fall by gravity into said collection vessel. In order to remove even the smallest parts of dirt that can remain attached to the belt not removed by the scraping blade 18, downstream of the scraping blade itself, a further aspirating blade 19 is installed, being part of a fine aspiration system 20 and directly in contact with the conveyor belt 17, and connected to a high-head aspirator 21 (commercially defined as lateral channel blower or vacuum pump), which creates a vacuum on the surface of the belt.

The solid parts aspirated by means of the further aspirating blade 19 are deposited in a vacuum container 22', interposed through pipe 23 between the aspirating blade 19 and aspirator 21 and adapted to collect them and then be emptied. In this way, the conveyor belt 17 is continuously cleaned and regenerated. Therefore, water falls into the collection tank 5 of the washing bath which cannot be defined as clean, even if it is only turbid and free of pollutants, and in any case not containing dirty solid parts. Consequently, the pumping and spraying system of the wash water is preserved from clogging problems.

There is a continuous supply of water directly from the mains 24 into the collection tank 5 of the wash water. A spillway 25 is also provided in the collection tank which leads to a discharge duct 26, in order to ensure the continuous change of water in the tank itself.

Figure 6 shows a system for locking cages 13 on the conveyor belt with respect to the wash module 2, to prevent the cages from moving under the strong thrust of the jet of water that flows from the sprayer nozzles fed by the high-pressure pump.

When the cages are transferred from the loading area 1 to the washing area 2, pneumatic cylinders 26 are activated on the stem of which a plate 27 is fixed for distributing the thrust on the surface of the cage, before the high-pressure pump 6 is activated. The thrust of plates 27 is adapted to counterbalance the thrust of the wash water pressure.

One or more containers with large mesh grid surfaces (not shown) may be used for washing the component parts of the cage, which are variable in shape and size, inside which said component parts are stably placed and secured. The containers are transported in the same way as the cages through the wash and rinse system and held in place inside the wash module, in such a way that the jets of wash and rinse water can reach them completely.

The rinse module 3, downstream of the wash module 2, is used for the sanitization of objects by means of ozone.

The module is designed in the same way as the wash module: a centrifugal pump 30 continuously recirculates the rinse water between a collection tank 31 of the rinse water and sprayer nozzles 32.

Translating rods supporting the sprayer nozzles, a rod movement system, a conveyor belt with parallel straps are provided which are entirely equivalent to those of the wash module.

What differs is the pressure value of the rinse water, and hence the dimensioning of the pump and nozzle pressure.

There is a continuous supply of water directly from the mains 24 into the collection tank 31 of the rinse water. A spillway 33 is also provided in the collection tank which leads to the discharge duct 26, in order to ensure the continuous change of water in the tank itself. In this way, moreover, the water in the tank is kept clean.

An ejector 34 (figure 1) is provided between the delivery outlet of the rinse pump 30 and the sprayer nozzles 32 which is intended to mix the ozone gas coming from a dedicated ozone generator 35, of a per se known type, with the rinse water that is conveyed to the sprayer nozzles 32.

The ejector is a per se known component which serves precisely for mixing the ozone gas in the water. The ejector must be suitably sized according to the flow rate and pressure values of the fluids involved (water and ozone).

Practical tests have shown that ozone concentrations of 5.5-6 ppm ensure the reduction of the bacterial load as verified by laboratory tests before and after treatment on in vivo contaminated cages.

Preferably, the generator system is provided with an automatic system for determining the desired concentration of ozone. An instrument indicating the ozone concentration in water is installed on the rinsing circuit downstream of the ejector. This also because ozone is an unstable gas with a short decay time, and therefore must be continually regenerated to allow maintaining the desired concentrations in water.

A variation to the hydraulic circuit for mixing ozone in water described above includes a recirculation system (figure 7) that works in two successive stages.

It is provided with a tank 36 of the closed type, the capacity of which is such as to ensure at least the supply of rinse water consumed in one rinse cycle. This tank is additional to that (31) described in the previous variant in Fig. 1.

In a first step, for example during the wash step, a centrifugal pump 30' recirculates the water into tank 36, mixing it, by means of an ejector 37, with the ozone gas produced by a dedicated generator 38, up to obtaining a mixture of water and ozone into tank 36 at the desired concentration (e.g. 5.5-6 ppm).

The generation system is provided with an instrument 39 for the continuous measurement of the concentration of ozone in water which interacts with the ozone gas generator 38 by modulating the production thereof in order to keep the concentration of the mixture constant over time. A control system of a possible excessive concentration of ozone may also be provided, with a degasser 40 which expels the excess ozone.

In the subsequent rinse step, the centrifugal pump 30', which may be the same centrifugal pump used during the first step of preparation of the water and ozone mixture, collects the ozonated water from the additional tank 36 and conveys it to the sprayer nozzles 32 of the rinse module 3. The water falling after the rinse operation still falls in the above collection tank 31, as described above. Automatically controlled shut-off valves 42, controlled by a microprocessor control system of the machine, allow carrying out the recirculation of the water into the tank, in the step of preparation of the mixture, or feeding the sprayer nozzles. The duration of the rinse step is such as to not adversely affect the decay time, and therefore to not perceptibly decrease the ozone concentration in water; said duration is for example equal to a time of about 180 seconds. Moreover, tank 36 is of the closed type, further promoting the retention of the ozone concentration.

A continuous supply of water is provided directly from the mains 24 into the additional tank 36, in order to ensure the proper supply of water into the tank itself, mainly after the emptying following the rinse step.

A static filter 43 is preferably provided, positioned on the collection tank 31 of the rinse water, mainly as a precaution in order to prevent the accidental fall of objects into the tank below.

The centrifugal rinse pump (30, 30') in both variants described must be suitably sized according to the type and number of sprayer nozzles and so as to ensure a pressure value suitable for the proper operation of the ejector.

The pressure value provided by the rinse pump may be, for example, of about 3 bar. This value is not such as to require a system for locking the cages such as that of the wash step; the nozzles actually atomize the rinse water so as not to cause movements of the cages.

An extraction fan is installed on the rinse module whose delivery duct is combined with an active carbon catalytic filter.

At the end of the rinse step, before opening the doors of the module, the fan is activated to extract and abate the residual ozone gas that is released and saturates the chamber during the spraying of ozonated water on the load. The wash and rinse modules are provided with hermetic doors 45 (Fig. 1) to prevent the escape of the ozone gas during the rinse step. The doors are closed during the respective steps and then opened to allow the movement of the cages to be washed.

The belts of the wash and rinse modules therefore work in a discontinuous manner, controlled by a microprocessor control system: the load to be washed is made to advance stepwise from one area to another and the residence time inside the various modules is determined to obtain the complete removal of dirt in the wash module and the reduction of the bacterial load with the ozone in the rinse module. The hourly productivity of the desired washing procedure will be determined by the number of cages that can be deposited on the conveyor belt inside a module.

For example, a typical wash step duration is 120 s, while a rinse duration is 180 s.

Embodiment variants of the non-limiting example described are possible without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, comprising all the equivalent embodiments for a man skilled in the art.

The elements and the features shown in the different preferred embodiments may be combined without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

The advantages resulting from the present invention are clear.

As mentioned above, what is achieved by the present invention is a washing method and equipment characterized by low energy consumption and operating costs. The temperature of the entire wash and rinse cycle is maintained at about the ambient value, therefore without the need of heating and subsequent cooling, therefore with no heat dispersion. Moreover, the low or no environmental impact is noted since no noxious substances or fumes are released and the overall pollutant load is null. No hazardous detergents or chemicals are used and therefore there is no need for intervention downstream of the system for neutralizing said substances.

From the above description, the man skilled in the art is able to implement the object of the invention without introducing any further construction details.

Claims

1. Method for washing cages and/or components thereof, adapted for use in the life science or pharmaceutical preclinical research field, comprising in succession:

- a first step of washing said cages and/or components thereof with a high-pressure jet of wash water only, at ambient temperature;

- a second step of rinsing said cages and/or components thereof with a jet of rinse water at ambient temperature mixed with ozone gas.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said ozone gas is mixed into water at a concentration of 5.5-6 ppm.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein said high pressure has a value in the range of 20 to 25 bar.

4. Equipment for washing cages and/or components thereof, adapted for use in the life science or pharmaceutical preclinical research field, comprising:

- a first wash module (2), adapted to generate a high-pressure jet of wash water only, at ambient temperature directed towards said cages and/or components thereof, in order to remove dirt from said cages and/or components thereof;

- a second rinse module (3), downstream of said first module, comprising a second system for generating a jet of rinse water at ambient temperature mixed with ozone gas, directed towards said cages and/or components thereof.

5. Equipment according to claim 4, wherein said first wash module (2) comprises:

- a high-pressure centrifugal pump (6);

- a first set of sprayer nozzles (7) for spraying said wash water at high pressure, generated by said centrifugal pump (6), towards said cages and/or components thereof;

- one or more translating rods (9), located under said cages and/or components thereof, adapted to carry said first set of sprayer nozzles (7);

- a first conveyor belt (12) for transporting said cages and/or components thereof;

- a filtering system (8) of the self-cleaning and continuously operating type, adapted to separate the dirt from the wash water that pours down from said first conveyor belt (12);

- a first collection tank (5), located under said first conveyor belt (12) and said filtering system (8), adapted to collect said wash water, said centrifugal pump (6) receiving water from said collection tank.

6. Equipment according to claim 5, wherein said filtering system (8) comprises:

- a second conveyor belt (17), located under said first set of sprayer nozzles (7), adapted to receive wash water and dirt and to let through wash water only;

- means adapted to collect and remove said dirt from said second conveyor belt (17).

7. Equipment according to claim 6, wherein said second conveyor belt (17) has a fine mesh, and wherein said means for collecting and removing said dirt comprise, at one end of said second conveyor belt (17):

- a scraping blade (18) in contact with said conveyor belt (12), adapted to remove said dirt and let it fall into a collection vessel (22);

- downstream of said scraping blade (18), an aspirating blade (19) in contact with said conveyor belt (17), connected to a high-head aspirator (21), adapted to complete said dirt removal;

- a vacuum container (22'), adapted to collect the dirt coming from said aspirating blade (19).

8. Equipment according to claim 5, wherein said first module (2) comprises a system for retaining said cages and/or components thereof on said first conveyor belt (12).

9. Equipment according to claim 5, wherein said conveyor belt (12) comprises a set of straps (14) parallel to and spaced from each other, the position of the nozzles on the translating rods being such that the jet of said set of sprayer nozzles (7) will pass fully through the gaps between said straps.

10. Equipment according to claim 4, wherein said second rinse module (3) comprises:

- a centrifugal pump (30, 30');

- a second set of sprayer nozzles (32) for spraying said rinse water supplied by said centrifugal pump (30, 30'), said second set of sprayer nozzles (32) being directed towards said cages and/or components thereof;

- one or more translating rods, located under said cages and/or components thereof, adapted to carry said second set of sprayer nozzles (32);

- a second conveyor belt for transporting said cages and/or components thereof;

- a system (34, 35) for generating ozone and mixing it with said rinse water;

- a second collection tank (31), located under said second conveyor belt, adapted to collect said rinse water.

1 1. Equipment according to claim 10, wherein said system (34, 35) for generating ozone and mixing it with rinse water comprises a first ozone generator (35) and a first ejector (34), said first ejector being adapted to carry out said mixing, said centrifugal pump (30) receiving water from said collection tank (31).

12. Equipment according to claim 10, wherein said system (34, 35) for generating ozone and mixing it with rinse water comprises:

- a tank (36) of the closed type, the capacity of which is such as to ensure the execution of at least one rinse cycle;

- a second ozone generator (38);

- a second ejector (37) adapted to carry out said mixing of ozone generated by said second ozone generator (38) with water supplied by said centrifugal pump (30'), said mixture of water and ozone being fed into said closed-type tank (36);

- means (39) for continuously measuring ozone concentration in water, adapted to control said second ozone generator (38) by modulating its production for the purpose of controlling the concentration of said mixture over time;

- control means (42) adapted to determine a first condition, wherein said centrifugal pump (30') supplies said rinse water mixed with ozone to said second ejector (37), and wherein said second ozone generator (38) supplies ozone to said second ejector (37), and a second condition, wherein said centrifugal pump (30') supplies said rinse water mixed with ozone to said second set of sprayer nozzles (32), said centrifugal pump (30') taking said mixture of water and ozone from said tank (36).

13. Equipment according to claim 4, wherein said first module (2) and second module (3) are of the sealed type comprising hermetic doors (45), said doors being closed during the wash and rinse steps, and then opened to allow handling said cages and/or components thereof.

14. Equipment according to claim 13, wherein said second module (3) comprises an extraction system adapted to extract and abate any excess ozone gas still present in said second module (3) at the end of a rinse step, prior to opening said hermetic doors (45).