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Sealed up hygienically clean

Dry-break couplings fabricated of stainless steel make hosepipe assemblies safe
Sealed up hygienically clean

The dry-break couplings of the ASK-CP series are available in nominal widths from DN 15 to DN 50. Users in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries value the easy-to-clean and hygienic design, as well as the safe and sure functionality of the bipartite stainless steel fittings. A manufacturer of pharmaceutically active agents uses the ASK-CP, among other applications, in hose lines for purified water.

The dry-break couplings of the ASK-CP series are predestined for hygienic applications. The bipartite fittings permit the assembly of hose lines, which can be quickly separated again, to connect extraction or tapping facilities of piping systems with mobile or stationary plant components, such as for example fermenters, mixers or transportation containers. A disk valve integrated into the male and the female part of the coupling provides for safety and hygiene. It prevents the outflow of the conveyed medium when the hose line has been separated. It simultaneously blocks the way for germs or pollutant particles from the surrounding air. “The handling of the dry-break coupling is rather simple”, says Andreas von Keitz, managing director of Arta Armaturen- und Tankgerätebau GmbH & Co. KG, “The two coupling parts are put in contact with each other axially, and are connected by an easy turn of the female part by about 30°. The junction point is thereby sealed up, the disk valves are opened, and the medium can flow through the hose line. This process takes place exactly in reverse order when the hose line is separated, i.e. uncoupled. The turning of the female part in the opposite direction will at first close the disk valves, then the sealed connection between the two coupling parts will be disengaged.”

Arta offers the ASK-CP dry-break couplings in nominal widths from DN 15 to DN 50. Depending on the requirements of the user, the connections are either designed as a sterile screwed joint, a sterile flange joint or a sterile clamp connection according to DIN or ISO. Sanitising connections can be provided upon enquiry. The dry-break couplings can be joined in both flow directions.
Useful combinations
Pharmaceutical hoses frequently consist of quite inflexible materials, which makes the coupling process more difficult. This disadvantage can be eliminated by joining the ASK-CP dry-break coupling to a ADG-CP swivel joint. And a further advantage: The risk of damaging the hose by torsional strain is demised. The couplings can additionally be combined with the Arta cleaning valve ARV-CP. This valve serves for the cleaning of the container. Every application calling for high safety standards suggests the use of the ASK-CP couplings with approximation initiators. These sensors indicate to the switchboard gallery or to the control room, that the coupling is closed properly and that the conveying path can be released/enabled. The mechanical coding of the two coupling halves provides for another safety plus, because it makes product mix-ups almost impossible.
Hygienic design
The dry-break couplings of the ASK-CP production series qualify for CIP and SIP. The gapless construction of the fittings and a surface roughness of 0.8 µm prevent the formation of germ and contaminant agglomerations, while at the same time providing for good cleanability. Andreas von Keitz emphasizes in this context:”We have for the greatest part also managed to arrange mechanical parts of the coupling, for example springs, outside of the product current. In those cases where this was not possible, they are circulated freely by the medium to be conveyed”.
The dry-break couplings are usually manufactured from stainless steel 1.4435, other stainless steel qualities are available upon request. We apply special care in the selection of the materials,“ explains von Keitz. “We have spectral analyses of samples of the stainless steels we employ conducted in an external laboratory. In addition, our customers receive a 3.1-B test certificate, which verifies the quality of the stainless steels used.” The seals incorporated consist of PFE or EPDM, materials in conformity with the FDA-requirements.
Use in purified water systems
“A manufacturer of pharmaceutically active agents used in human medicine has been using the ASK-CP for more than ten years,” von Keitz states. “The couplings are employed in hose lines which for example connect mobile heaters with the supply system for service water or thermal oil. Since everybody in the enterprise was very happy with the safe and reliable functioning of the hose coupling, the decision was made two years ago to also use the ASK-CP couplings in the hose lines for purified water. A crucial factor in favour of this decision was also that the couplings fulfilled all requirements of the pharmaceutical enterprise regarding hygienic process components. This requirement profile is based both on the GMP-guidelines and on in-house specifications regarding the surface quality of the parts coming into contact with the product, the sealing materials to be used, as well as the certificates to be presented regarding the stainless steel qualities.”
The purified water is produced centrally and fed into a central pipe system via an intermediate storage tank with a capacity of 10 m ³. This main loop extends over the complete production building, which consists of six floors. Two to three water tapping installations are located on every floor, which are connected to the main loop by means of sub-loops. The production engineers are looking for an option to connect reactors, crystallisers or centrifuges with the tapping installations, as may be needed in the processes.
It could be established very quickly, that a flexible supply of the installations with purified water – it is used as a solvent and cleaning agent – was not to be accomplished by means of a rigidly installed piping system. Therefore the decision was made in favor of pharmaceutical hoses which are equipped with dry-break couplings of the ASK-CP series. “The end of the hose line”, as von Keitz describes, “ is connected to the tapping facility by means of a sterile flange. The other end is connected to the respective consumer by means of an ASK-CP. In separated condition, the male and the female part of the coupling is sealed off tightly by means of the disk valve. So a contamination of the water cannot take place.”
Always on the move
The fully demineralised water must be kept in permanent circulation to prevent germ formation in the line system. That is why the flow rate of the water in the main loop, in the sub-loops, as well as in the hoses may not fall below a value of 1 m/s. If water is being withdrawn, then this requirement can be fulfilled without problems. But if no purified water is needed for the reactions, the crystallizers or centrifuges, then the water will stand motionless in the hose line. The second end of the hose is therefore also connected to the tapping facility by means of the ASK-CP to prevent this. And in this way the water in the hose line will also remain in permanent movement. (le)
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Arta Armaturen- und Tankgerätebau GmbH

Separate pharmaceutical sector
Arta Armaturen- und Tankgerätebau GmbH & Co. KG develops and manufactures a wide variety of different hose fittings. These include dry-break couplings for full hose systems, emergency separating devices, revolving or swivel joints, as well as dispensing valves with automatic and non-automatic shut-down. The products are used for all applications involving the safe and emission-free conveyance of gaseous and liquid media. The main customers of the hose fittings or for the complete hose lines are offshore enterprises, the chemical- and petrochemical industries, as well as manufacturers of pharmaceutical products and of food.
The family enterprise can look back on a history covering more than 30 years. At the headquarters in Diez, which is located on the banks of the Lahn-river, 25 people are employed of whom 15 are working in the development- and in the sales departments. “We have moved into our new corporate building in the Diez-Limburg industrial area three years ago,” says von Keitz. “The new building offers space for a separate pharmaceutical sector. Here we are exclusively assembling and storing products for hygienic and pharmaceutical applications. This zone, for which we have imposed particularly strict requirements regarding cleanness and orderliness, is closed and off-limits for all other products of our house.“
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