SPECIAL REPORTS 34 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS September 2024 www.hpmag.co.uk For fluid control applications in sectors such as pharmaceuticals as well as food & beverage production, manufacturers can increase productivity and reduce costs while helping to meet their sustainability objectives by integrating improved control valves. Hydroformed valve bodies for diaphragm valves achieve high strength and light weight. This makes hydroformed valve bodies far more energy efficient compared to forged or cast designs, and the manufacturing process is inherently more sustainable too. In process manufacturing applications including pharmaceutical as well as food and beverage production, diaphragm valves support the hygiene imperative. In addition to preventing contamination, diaphragm valve design enables cleaning and sterilisation to meet regulatory standards. While clean in place (CIP) and sterilisation in place (SIP) practices are essential, they demand time and energy. A hygienic system, comprising tubing and valves, is steam sterilised to over 100°C and is then air cooled to below 45°C where production can resume. The longer each process takes, the lower the system’s production capacity. Increased time also means higher energy use, both with a greater demand on steam generation to reach the required sterilisation level, as well as powering the air cooling system to quickly reduce the temperature. Critical to this process is the choice of valve body. Though they comprise just a fraction of the system’s total length of tube, even when hundreds might be used, production cannot resume until the valve bodies are cleaned, sterilised, and cooled. This makes the importance of valve body specification much greater than their physical scale might suggest. Hydroformed valve bodies Traditionally, diaphragm valve bodies are forged, where the stainless steel, required for its hygienic properties, is heated and compressed into place. A forged valve body has a longer heat transfer capacity, so a cast design, where the stainless steel Kieran Bennet, Industry Manager Food & Beverage, Chemical & Petrochemical at Bürkert, explains the sustainability advantages of hydroformed valve bodies. Hydroformed diaphragm valve bodies are the sustainable way
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