Industries Served
The hygienic requirements for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology processing industries are relatively high, requiring the materials of construction for process equipment and piping systems to demonstrate outstanding corrosion resistance and cleanability to ensure the purity and integrity of the drug product. The grades used must be able to withstand the temperature, pressure, and corrosive nature of the production process.
For years, 316L/316 has been the alloy of choice for the bio-pharmaceutical industry and is likely to remain the leading material of construction. However, recent changes in U.S. regulations mandate that corrosion of equipment or product contamination of any kind is not acceptable, putting high demands on the construction materials.
Many of the media used in the industry contain chlorides at acidic-to-neutral pH levels and at low to moderate temperatures. 316L/316 may have unsatisfactory performance in chloride-containing environments, even at low temperatures.
Because of these industry developments, there is an ongoing move to high performance superaustenitic stainless steels like SSC-6MO and duplex 2205. Also, for the most severe operating conditions, nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy C-276 is the material of choice.
These Sandmeyer Steel Company materials, including titanium, are used in the fabrication of centrifuges, crystallizers, extraction units, fermentation units, filters, formulation equipment, mixers, reactors, rotary dryers, stills, tablet machines, tanks, and vessels.
