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Automated steam condensate sampling system
GEMÜ has developed a completely new automatic system for sterile sampling of pure steam condensate.
In order to monitor pure steam quality in sterile plants in the pharmaceutical, food, and beverage industries, samples are regularly taken from the steam ring mains and their contamination analysed in a laboratory. For this purpose various systems have been used to date where sampling takes place manually or semi-automatically. The operator of the plant or the lab technician usually has to monitor the entire sample extraction procedure.
As well as potential contamination of the sample taken, with some systems there is a health and safety issue concerning an increased risk of scalding. GEMÜ has developed a completely new automatic system for sterile sampling of pure steam condensate. This totally isolates the condensate sample, reducing operator involvement and potential injury.
The complete system comprises a sampling multi-port valve with pneumatic actuators, a stainless steel sampling bottle, and a compact control unit – either mounted ready-to-connect on a movable stand or as a static version.
After starting the programme, the parameterised control process runs fully automatically. As a first step, the entire system is sterilised. Then the sampling process starts automatically until the set condensate quantity is reached; the system switches off after the end of the programme. The advantage of this new system is its significantly reduced sampling time for a completely closed, faultless sample extraction. It is compact, mobile, and can also be connected to other sampling points in the ring main at any time.
Parameters such as sterilisation time and condensate volume can be individually set via the control system; they are then saved and enable the process to be reproduced.