Bürkert Optimizes Hygiene in Ultra-Pure Water Sub-Loops

Maintaining hygienic flow conditions in purified water (PW) and water for injection (WFI) sub-loops is a critical challenge in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Traditional manual control or monitored T-valve systems often fail to guarantee consistent flow velocity, leading to stagnation, dead legs, and a heightened risk of bacterial biofilm formation.

Intelligent Sub-Loop Automation
Damien Moran, Segment Manager for Hygienic-Pharmaceutical at Bürkert, outlines that integrating a fully automated, intelligent sub-loop effectively mitigates this contamination risk. The solution relies on Bürkert’s FLOWave flowmeter, which utilizes Surface Acoustic Wave technology to precisely measure volumetric flow and velocity on the exterior of a straight tube, leaving the internal flow path completely unobstructed. This is paired with the pneumatically controlled Type 2036 Robolux multi-way diaphragm valve. Using 2-weir technology, the single valve manages both continuous sub-loop circulation and precise point-of-use (POU) dosing, eliminating internal dead space.

Additional Context
This section provides technical and industry background not explicitly detailed in the original article.

In highly regulated pharmaceutical environments, microbial contamination in WFI systems can lead to costly batch rejections and severe regulatory compliance failures. Traditional flow meters, such as Coriolis meters, often feature complex internal geometries that can complicate standard Clean-in-Place (CIP) and Sterilize-in-Place (SIP) protocols. By utilizing a straight-tube acoustic wave sensor constructed from 316L stainless steel with an internal roughness (Ra) of <0.4 µm, facilities remove the microscopic imperfections where bacteria breed. Furthermore, replacing manual dosing with intelligent, programmable logic controls eliminates operator-dependent variability, vastly reducing the waste of highly expensive ultra-pure water media.

Edited by Lekshman Ramdas, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.

www.burkert.com