Production systems in the food and pharmaceutical industry should be designed in such a way that the processes are hygienically safe and can be validated. Hermetically sealed hygienic pumps from CP Pump Systems have a clear advantage over pumps with dynamic shaft seals when it comes to microbial contamination.
In order to meet the requirements for hygienic and aseptic process conditions, manufacturers and operators alike must comply with applicable laws, guidelines and regulations (such as FDA, EHEDG, 3A, GMP). The aim is to design systems and components in such a way that contaminants and microorganisms do not contaminate the food or pharmaceuticals and the operators can operate the production and cleaning process safely and in a validatable manner. As a manufacturer, CP Pump Systems focuses on a hygienic design of the pump that is suitable for hygiene and cleaning.
When considering hygiene-critical details, the following criteria, among others, are assessed for applications:
- Are the materials used inert and physiologically safe?
- Does the surface finish meet the requirements?
- Are all joints and connections hygienically designed?
- Can the pumped liquid drain out of the pump unhindered?
- Are there any dead spaces that could lead to the accumulation and contamination of product residues?
Centrifugal pumps have become established for pumping low-viscosity and slightly viscous liquids. Here, a mechanical seal (GLRD) is usually installed as a dynamic shaft seal, which separates the pump hydraulics in contact with the product from the drive side via a sealing gap. Even if hygienically flushed mechanical seal systems are properly operated and regularly maintained, no mechanical seal is 100% leak-proof. Permissible leakage rates of approx. 0.8 ml/h to the atmosphere side sound low, but can lead to contamination of the production environment. In addition, there is a risk that microorganisms can grow through the sealing gap against the pressure gradient in the event of a leakage or unforeseen standstill, despite overpressure in the product chamber, and thus contaminate the conveyed product. Rinsed GLRDs are also neither cleaned nor sterilized in the classic way. For shutdowns or cleaning, horizontally mounted pumps sometimes have a drainage port on the housing through which any liquid residue remaining in the pump hydraulics can drain off. This must be designed in such a way that no contamination can occur either when the pump is open or closed.
With a mechanical seal pump, the condition of the mechanical seal is difficult to control - even in hygienic design. Microorganisms can grow through the sealing surfaces of the mechanical seal. Magnetically coupled MKP-Bio hygienic pumps from CP Pump Systems are bacteria-proof, low-maintenance and batch-safe.
No shaft seal - no microbial contamination!
Magnetically coupled hygienic pumps in the MKP-Bio series from the Swiss manufacturer CP Pump Systems avoid this design weakness with the help of a seal-less construction. In the hermetically sealed pump, the pump housing is not interrupted by a drive shaft; the product chamber is hermetically separated from the atmosphere by a containment shell. Due to the lack of a shaft seal, there is no dynamic sealing gap through which microorganisms can enter the pump. Power is transmitted from the motor shaft to the impeller without contact via an inner and outer magnetic rotor. Thanks to their geometry, the vertically installed pumps are completely self-draining with no dead space and are also 100% CIP-cleanable and SIP-sterilizable.
