Steam Filtration

In industry and manufacturing, steam is an essential utility. Used as a heat source – as well as for cleaning and sterilisation – steam is highly effective and convenient in many direct and indirect processes. Not only can it hold significant amount of potential energy, but it’s easy to transport around facilities, too.

As a sterile compound, steam can be safely used in food and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, such decontaminating equipment in hospitals and laboratories. However, in order to keep steam systems working efficiently, it’s vital that steam is filtered to remove pipework contaminants.

Without filtration, cartridge filters or storage tanks in the process system could be damaged by unwanted particulates – making them less effective and in need of frequent maintenance.

Fouled pipework creates a direct risk where contaminants could be introduced to manufactured products.

Sterilisation, for example, is dependent on exposure to heat for a specific period of time – and the temperature of the steam is determined by air pressure.

When contaminants degrade a pipework system, the pressure of the system can drop. This increases the danger that that the steam won’t be hot enough to sterilise a product effectively. The negative impact doubles when you consider that more energy is required to get the steam back to the correct temperature, causing higher costs and lower efficiency of the process.

Filtration requirements differ depending on the nature of the application.

For example:

• Process steam used for heating, steam jackets and bio-hazard destruction is filtered to 5 microns
• Culinary steam that comes into direct contact with food, or food manufacturing equipment, must be filtered to less than 2 microns (as defined by standard 3A-609-03).

‘Clean’ steam - often used in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry - must be even more precisely filtered. It is initially prefiltered to less than 2 microns, as with culinary steam – but is then further filtered by PTFE membranes to ensure 100% removal of magnetite particles (which occurs due to the corrosive nature of clean steam on stainless-steel pipework).

The solution to many highly precise steam filtration requirements is to use a stainless-steel (st/st) filter.

St/st is a type of metal filter that has a range of small pores that can capture both solid and liquid contaminants. The st/st material makes the filter exceptionally strong, so it can survive high-heat conditions for a prolonged period of time.

A sintered st/st cartridge is often best for low flows, while a pleated st/st cartridge is ideal for a higher flow rate. When you choose the right solution to suit your steam filtration needs, filters can – with regular cleaning - last up to five years at a time; making them a highly efficient addition to the process.

Not sure which product is best for your application? We have over 35 years of filtration experience, across all industries. Speak to us and we’ll be happy to assist.