Steam is one of the critical and essential utilities in the pharmaceutical industry used to derive most of the pharma processes and equipment. It delivers thermal energy to its intended point of use, which in turn performs the desired functionality of a process or equipment.
Like all components of the pharma industry, the steam must be delivered in its purest and quality state to fulfill regulatory guidelines and product safety. Another critical reason for quality steam in the pharma industry is the fact that steam comes in direct contact with the product or container in which a product is packed.
While pharma industry work hard to generate quality steam, it is also required to monitor its quality to prevent and rectify any faults during its generation.
Steam quality testing determines the acceptability of steam for pharma applications and points out any shortcomings.
What is steam quality?
Steam quality is the function of the following
● Moisture content in steam (expressed as the percentage of steam in the mixture) ,
● Superheat, and
● Dryness.
Standard values of the above mentioned parameters in a given steam sample indicates a quality steam.
The addition of other concentrations, contamination or foreign body affects the steam purity. It is because, during steam generation phases (i.e., water preparation and conversion into steam), it is possible that water adds to the steam, degrading the thermal efficiency of steam and can result in the following.
● Boiler Water Carryover
● Failure of steam trap
● Insulation problem in steam piping
Boiler Water Carryover
Steam is generated by an equipment called a boiler. A steam's purity can be affected when anything besides steam leaves the boiler, and is contaminated with moisture traces.
When this problem occurs, moisture from boiler enters into the pharma process.
There can be many causes of boiler carryover, such as
● Improper boiler design and un-match boiler specifications
● Erratic operational parameters
● Improper chemical parameters and dosing values
● Different contaminants, such as grease and oil
Failure of Steam Trap
Steam Traps are valves that automatically filter away non-steam components, and are responsible for removing condensate and non-condensable gases from the steam network, if somehow they have entered the piping network.
If steam trap fails to perform its function, the condensate or moisture content will increase in the steam, decreasing the steam quality
There can be many reasons for steam trap failure, such as
● Contamination in the water feed(to the boiler) injects contamination into steam, which affects the steam trap working
● Incorrect installation in the line
● Design failure
Insulation problem on steam distribution piping
Steam is distributed from the boilers in different parts of the pharma manufacturing plant through an extensive network of piping. This network can span large areas where steam travels to its intended location.
The main aim of steam is to deliver heat, which is generated at high temperatures. Piping is insulated to prevent heat loss to avoid temperature drop and heat loss. It helps to reduce heat loss and provides the desired steam pressure.
If piping is not insulated correctly, it will result in condensation in steam due to heat loss, which will decrease the steam quality. Additionally, the volume of condensate will be more for the traps to handle, resulting in their failure to trap the condensate from reaching its endpoint.
Importance of steam quality in pharma
Let's discuss why it is essential to maintain steam quality in the pharmaceutical industry.
Effective sterilization depends on the Steam Quality
Sterilization is one of the most critical applications of steam in the pharmaceutical industry, and its effectiveness depends on the quality of the steam being used. Steam provides the necessary thermal energy to kill microorganisms and remove contamination, which in turn depends on the steam properties.
During sterilization, steam penetrates the items, transferring the thermal energy and ...
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