Sterile Valves Importance of Media Flow
Sanitary or sterile valves are one of the best choices for applications where sterility, cleanliness, zero dead volume, and uninterrupted flow are of utmost importance. The rubber tubing inside the sterile valves provides an unobstructed flow path that drastically reduces shear effect and turbulence of the media. This also results in minimal loss in pressure, which further improves the efficiency of the system. The flowing media also stays inside the original supply tube.
Sterile Valves Elastomer Sleeve
The rubber sleeve/tubing has a simple design in these pinch-type sterile valves and is highly tolerant to small particulates and slurries. The risk of cross contamination is near to zero, as the only wetted part of the valve is the rubber sleeve, which keeps the flowing media from interacting with the other components of the operating system. This characteristic and their stainless steel parts makes these valves a great choice where it is imperative for the flowing media to be isolated from the other parts to avoid any sort of contamination.
One highlighting benefit of the sterile valve is that due to the rubber sleeve, other parts don’t have to be made corrosion resistant, making its design very economical as compared to other valves available in the market. Moreover, the rubber sleeve is very durable and can be replaced easily with a simple re-sleeve process.
Pinch Valves in stainless steel by AKO are EHEDG Certified.
Sterile Valves Benefits and Applications
The following are some benefits of sterile valves:
- Isolated tubing ensures no contact with the fluid
- Fail-close configuration
- High corrosion resistance
- High SIP and CIP capability
- Lightweight and compact design
- Self-draining
Because of their ability to be used in sterile and highly controlled environments, these pinch valves are commonly used in many applications, including:
- Food and beverage industry
- Diary
- Pharmaceuticals
- Medical industry
- Biotechnology and equipments
For all these reasons and more, sterile valves with a pinching rubber sleeve are a preferred choice over butterfly, gate, ball, and other types of valves.
