Purity with economyProducing pure steam and WFI economically

Two products from Christ, a member of the Christ Water Technology Group, produce pure steam and water for injection (WFI) economically and in large quantities, while meeting all the relevant standards including USP, EP, Ph. Helv. and DAB.

The Vapotron from Christ is a pure steam generator specially designed for the pharmaceutical industry. Depending on size, Vapotron units produce 45–4,000 kg/h of sterile and pyrogen-free steam for sterilization in place (SIP) and to supply steam sterilizers. For each kilogram of steam the unit consumes 1.05 kg of Purified Water as feed, and 1.2 kg of technical-grade steam for heating. Small units can also be electrically heated.
Vapotron units are made from stainless steel and are resistant to scaling. The use of short heat exchanger tubes facilitates mechanical cleaning and avoids vibration. Large expansion surfaces in the upper part of the column keep steam velocities below 1 m/s, and the design allows leak-testing at any time without removing the heat exchanger. Each plant is under full automatic control, and is individually programmed. Documentation is supplied to suit the application.

To produce WFI, a series of between three and nine Vapotron columns are combined to produce a multi-effect distillation unit known as Multitron. The same unit can also produce pure steam, which is drawn off after the first column. Depending on the number of columns, the Multitron produces 153–15,000 kg/h of distillate. The amount of WFI produced also depends on the pressure of the heating steam and the temperature in the first column. The maximum conductivity of the distillate is 0.5µS/cm.
Each column is equipped with a special double-bottom heat exchanger. The design allows uniform expansion of the heat exchanger tubes and the outer jacket, ensuring minimal stress at the welds and greatly reducing the risk of corrosion. Seamless drawn tubes, as recommended by the FDA, are available for applications where a medium has an inferior purity at higher pressure. A two-stage system for separating large and small water drops provides a reliable guarantee of the highest water quality.