Pharmaceutical industry process: methods and solutions for effective cleaning

Whoever works productively in the pharmaceutical/food sector knows how important it is to maintain a clean and hygienic process environment to ensure product quality and purity: if small organic traces remain in the piping equipment after the process, they can develop bacterial colonies that can contaminate the processed product with potential harm to consumer health.

In order to avoid that, till the 1950s process equipment such as valves, pipes, etc. were taken out from the plant and manually cleaned with significant economic impact due to frequent and prolonged downtime.

Since then, technology has developed to today’s automated CIP (Clean in Place) and SIP (Sterilization in Place) processes. These terms refer to washing and sterilization procedures, which consists of several stages that allow the internal surfaces of the equipment to be cleaned and then eventually sterilized (complete bacterial elimination), without being disassemble from the system. This can be done after careful analysis not only of the application but also of the type of dirt to be removed; combining rinsing, detergent and drying phases with chemical or thermal sterilization.

Important: both phases (CIP and SIP) must necessarily be carried out in sequence, since sterilization is ineffective on uncleaned surfaces.

In Sterivalves, as manufacturers of equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industry, we are particularly sensitive to our customer’s needs, that is why we have designed and developed the Rotovalve Plus dosing valve in accordance with the “Guidelines for the Design of Hygienic Equipment”.

Apart from its mirror-polished internal surfaces in contact with the product (Ra <0.5 µm), the Rotovalve Plus particular design avoids the presence of “dead corners” or obstruction points where the product can accumulate and cannot be completely eliminated using the washing liquid.

Its seals are also designed with the same logic; besides, an internal flushing system ensures the removal of  elastomer particles that may appear with the valve normal use. If dosing bulk powder product and ensuring an hygienic design are your priorities, then Sterivalves Rotovalve Plus is the most appropriate solution for you.