The seamless, smoothly extruded, US FDA-compliant liners made from DuPont Teflon PTFE are making a major contribution to the level of cleanliness and hygiene offered by Elapharm hose assemblies from Hamburg, Germany based Elaflex.
Using a proprietary production technology, the liners are bonded to the rubber construction, which is made of EPDM plus a high-strength, temperature-resistant aramid braiding and a coil of stainless steel wire. Together, these individual components offer a combination of flexibility, anti-kinking and pressure/vacuum resistance.
Due to the ultra-high chemical resistance of the Teflon PTFE liners to nearly all media used in the pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries, the potential applications for Elapharm hose are said to be virtually unlimited.
Depending on the medium, the service temperature range is between –30°C and +140°C at operating pressures from –0.09 bar (vacuum) to 16 bar. The inherent non-stick effect of the inner fluoropolymer liner reduces the cleaning effort to a minimum even when high-viscosity media are conveyed. This, together with the speed of emptying the system for cleaning purposes or for changing the media, can provide significant cost savings in production.
The Elapharm hoses have been developed with ContiTech Schlauch, based in Korbach/Germany. They are available in two versions, from DN 13 to DN 50. The seamless smooth liner of the ‘OHM’ type conforms to DIN 26055-3 Type B and is made of black, electrically conductive Teflon PTFE. The outer sheath of EPDM is also black and electrically conductive. The ‘I’ version is provided with a liner of white electrically insulating Teflon PTFE. Its blue EPDM cover is also electrically insulating.
Furthermore, it complies with the requirements of the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regarding extractable components. Elaflex supplies both types of Elapharm hoses as a complete assembly with crimped hose fittings. Users choose between flush-mounted hose tails (‘gap-minimised’) and patented hose fittings with a beaded Teflon PTFE liner (free of ‘dead spaces’ or ‘hold spots’).
Series production of the new hoses is due to begin by June.
