How to choose the valve of the pharmaceutical industry
The valves required for pharmaceuticals need to meet the characteristics of avoiding cross contamination and easy cleaning. Commonly used valves include globe valves, ball valves, butterfly valves, diaphragm valves, check valves, etc.
Different types of valves have different working function principles and characteristics, and need to be selected according to the application type and the area used. And consider factors including switching frequency, pressure loss, regulation performance, and temperature, pressure, and media for specified process conditions.
The following lists the advantages and disadvantages of several commonly used valves:
Advantages of globe valve:
1: Can work at high frequency
2: Can be used in high pressure environment
3: Has good adjustment performance
Disadvantages of globe valves:
1: Loss caused by excessive media pressure
2: fixed flow direction
3: Can only be used in liquid conditions
The advantages of the diaphragm valve:
1: Can work at high frequency
2: Both clean and contaminated media can be used
3: No dead ends
4: Can be disinfected
5: Can be cleaned
6: Has good adjustment performance
7: Flow direction can be selected
Disadvantages of diaphragm valves:
1: Loss caused by excessive media pressure
2: Higher costs and later maintenance costs
3: Limited operating pressure and operating temperature
4: Fast wear
The advantages of butterfly valve:
1: Low pressure damage to the valve
2: Flow direction can be selected
3: Compact structure, good quality and light weight
4: Lower cost than other valves
Disadvantages of butterfly valves:
1: Low working frequency
2: Poor adjustment performance
3: If the medium is particles, the wear is fast
4: The working pressure is suitable for medium and low pressure
The advantages of ball valve:
1: relatively low cost
2: Good sealing
3: Round shape, almost no pressure loss
4: Flow direction can be selected
5: Can be used in high temperature and high pressure working conditions
Disadvantages of ball valves:
1: Low working frequency
2: Poor adjustment performance
3: There is a closing dead corner when fully closed
The EU GMP standard requires valves to meet the characteristics of avoiding cross contamination and easy cleaning. In practical applications, FDA-approved diaphragm valves have become designated valves in aseptic applications, and FDA-approved globe valves are designated valves for clean room applications. In the case of aseptic applications, the FDA even specifies the need to use diaphragm valves to ensure good cleaning performance of equipment or systems. The non-clean medium for cooling water or heating steam mainly uses butterfly valves, ball valves and globe valves. Because these valves do not directly affect the quality of the products, these valves that do not directly contact the product are mostly considered from an economic perspective.