Clean’ tubes meet bioprocessing equipment standards
Swedish company Sandvik Calamo, which specialises in the manufacture of ‘clean’ tubes and fittings for the pharmaceutical, medical and semiconductor industries, has launched a range of tubes that meets the ASME standards for bioprocessing equipment.
ASME specification BPE 2005 has become an industry norm and has achieved growing importance, particularly in European markets, for bioprocessing equipment. The standard covers materials, design, fabrication, pressure systems, testing, inspection and certification and provides designers and process engineers with a reliable and consistent method of specifying ‘clean’ tubes for use in high purity applications such as water-for-injection (WFI), clean steam and ultrafiltration.
It specifies six standards of surface roughness (Ra values), specified SFT1 to SFT6, which Sandvik Calamo meets mainly through its processing expertise in electropolishing, pickling and cleaning of stainless steel.
Sandvik Calamo can supply either electropolishing or mechanical polishing but believes that the former is easier to clean and sterilise due to the smoothness and lack of inclusions and surface defects of the finished surface.
The company uses a wet-in-wet process to avoid contamination and dry spots during the cleaning process. Purging with filtered nitrogen is carried out before tubes are end sealed and packed in plastic sleeves. The tubing is produced in fully integrated mills, which means total control of production processes from steel melt to the finished product.
The new range of tubes is available in sizes from 0.75 inches up to 4 inches outside diameter in AISI 316L/1.4404 welded tubes, and from 0.25 inches up to 2 inches in AISI 316L/1.4435 seamless tubes.
