Why is the Sanitary Diaphragm Valve the best Choice in the Biopharmaceutical Industry?

Sanitary Diaphragm Valves ( sanitary membrane valves) have the reputation of being the “clean valves”.  They are the preferred choice in the biopharmaceutical industry because they are ideally suited in situations where unobstructed flow, throttling and positive shut-off are required for ultra-pure and sensitive media. Sanitary diaphragm valves are the only truly clean straight through valves for pharmaceutical applications.  All other suitable valves are 90 degree configurations.

The sanitary diaphragm isolates the process media from the environment and all moving parts of the valve and so protecting the media from contamination while preventing it from interfering with the valve operation. The properly chosen diaphragm also provides exceptional steam resistance and long term durability.

The valve body is free of any entrapment areas and is also self-draining when mounted in a line having a 2 degree incline. 

Most sanitary diaphragm valve bodies are made of forged 316L stainless steel. Forgings are much less porous than castings.  This enables the valves to be polished to surface finishes as low as 10Ra.

They can also be electropolished to achieve even better surface finishes.

The simple weir design of the sanitary diaphragm valve body enables them to be configured in multiple valves in single blocks customized for specific applications.

Sanitary diaphragm valves are “top entry” valves.  The bonnets and diaphragms can be serviced without removing the valve body from the process lines.  This allows the valves to be welded into place, removing clamp joints from the system.