How to Select the Right Mixproof Valve for Your Food, Beverage, or Dairy Process
Sanitary valves are a key component for any food, beverage, or dairy processor. They are used throughout process piping systems to stop, divert, or control the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially blocking the passageway.
Selecting the right type of sanitary valve for your process requires consideration of the fluid flowing through the process piping and the valve’s application and function. Capturing the fluid’s viscosity, corrosiveness, and flow rate, the system pressure and temperature, required maintenance, and precision requirements, among other variables specific to your process are critical to proper sanitary valve selection.
Understanding media and system specifications will help determine whether a simple, manually operated valve will meet your needs or if you require a more complex solution, like a mixproof valve. Rodem offers a wide variety of sanitary valves suited for nearly any application in a sanitary processing environment, in this article, we will cover the basics on mixproof valve’s working principles, ideal applications, their pros and cons, and provide an overview of the various options on the market from the Alfa Laval mixproof valve portfolio.
Mixproof Valve Design & Operation
Mixproof valves, also known as double seat valves, contain two seats within the valve versus the traditional single seat. This allows for fluid separation. In the case of a leak, there is an exit area between the two seats. This creates a positive method for preventing the two different fluids from contaminating one another.
Mixproof valves have two independent plug seals to separate the liquids. The space between these seals forms a leakage chamber at atmospheric pressure during all working conditions. Leakage is very uncommon with mixproof valves; however, if leakage does occur, product flows into a leakage chamber and leaves through the bottom outlet, making detection simpler.
When the mixproof valve is open, the leakage chamber is closed. The product then flows from one line to the other. The radial seal design of the mixproof valve ensures that virtually no product spillage occurs during valve operation. It is possible to adapt valve configuration to get optimum cleaning and water hammer protection as per the requirements of individual process specifications.
The mixproof valve’s design of two independently controlled valve stems helps ensure that two different fluids cannot mix. This principle makes mixproof valves ideal for large-scale food, beverage, dairy, and other high-purity manufacturing facilities that produce several products at the same time.
Benefits of the Mixproof Valve
Mixproof valves dual functionality helps food, beverage, and dairy manufacturers optimize resources. Incorporating mixproof valve technology leads to decreased downtime and increased production. Maintenance and service are relatively simple, and a long product life span is common, with little investment required for spare part replacement.
Key Mixproof Valve Benefits:
- Increased processing flexibility when replacing multiple other valve types with mixproof valves
- Workforce savings with the elimination of swing connections
- Reduced waste with virtually spillage-free operation
- Faster changeovers and streamlined cleaning
- Eliminates cross-contamination
Mixproof Valve Applications
Mixproof valves are ideal for a number of sanitary processing applications throughout food, dairy, beverage and other high-purity processing facilities, including:
- fluid tanker reception and cleaning
- transfer to storage
- raw and pasteurized product routing
- high-temperature, short-time systems
- extended shelf life and aseptic systems
- tank and line clean-in-place systems
- cleaning solution routing valves
Alfa Laval Mixproof Valve Portfolio
Not all mixproof valves are created equal. Rodem collaborates with industry leading Alfa Laval mixproof valves to offer food, dairy and beverage processors a wide variety of this valve technology. The Alfa Laval mixproof valve concept provides modular solutions that are simply tailored to meet any requirement.
Explore the Alfa Laval mixproof valve portfolio below.
ASEPTIC ALFA LAVAL MIXPROOF VALVE
The Alfa Laval Aseptic Mixproof Valve ensures product safety and provides full protection against the intrusion of unsafe microorganisms, even during unwanted pressure spikes. This double-seat mixproof valve is ideal for use in sterile processing applications in the food, dairy and beverage industries. Simple to configure, operate, maintain, it reduces the total cost of ownership by up to 45% compared to other aseptic valves.
Unique Alfa Laval Mixproof Valve
The Unique mixproof valve, the primary Alfa Laval mixproof valve, allows simultaneous flow of two distinct fluids through the same valve without the risk of cross-contamination. Alfa Laval Unique mixproof valves feature two independent plugs, which means that a single Unique mixproof valve can often replace two or more valves of other types. To maximize the benefits of the Alfa Laval Unique mixproof valve, combine it with Alfa Laval sensing and control units or create a customized valve cluster.
UNIQUE CP-3 ALFA LAVAL MIXPROOF VALVE
The Alfa Laval Unique mixproof CP-3 valve is an extremely efficient lightweight reduced vent valve. This mixproof valve is designed to be configurable and protect the product in all processing occasions. Engineered with the most up to date efficiency and sustainability principles in mind, they maximize floor space while significantly minimizing CIP consumption and downtime.
UNIQUE HORIZONTAL TANK ALFA LAVAL MIXPROOF VALVE
The Alfa Laval Unique Mixproof Horizontal Tank Valve is specifically designed for horizontal mounting directly on the tank wall. It improves cleanliness of the horizontal tank connections and guarantees that no area of the tank inlet or tank outlet is left uncleaned.
UNIQUE LARGE PARTICLE ALFA LAVAL MIXPROOF VALVE
For applications with highly viscous fluids or large particles, this mixproof valve offers the same basic advantages as Unique mixproof valves but, they are specifically designed with large openings up to 45 mm (about 1.77 in) in diameter.
UNIQUE TANK OUTLET ALFA LAVAL MIXPROOF VALVE
This mixproof valve offers the same basic advantages as the unique mixproof valves but specially engineered for mounting directly on the tank wall at the inlets and outlets. The Unique mixproof tank outlet (TO) valve offers full drainability and provides cleanability all the way up to the tank without any risk of cross-contamination for tank inlet and outlet applications.
UNIQUE ULTRAPURE ALFA LAVAL MIXPROOF VALVE
Alfa Laval Unique Mixproof UltraPure is designed to suit the stringent demands of the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries. It enables the simultaneous flow of two different fluids without the risk of cross-contamination. Modular in design, this mixproof valve ensures maximum uptime for continuous, high-purity processes.
There are many options to consider when selecting the right mixproof valve for your process. With the large offering from Alfa Laval there is sure to be a mixproof valve to suit your needs.
For large-scale food, beverage or dairy processors looking to automate and enhance processes without risking cross-contamination of fluids or adding additional equipment, mixproof valves should be considered. The valves two-seat design offers flexibility and opens the door for other subsequent benefits. For help selecting the right mixproof valve for your process, contact one of our experts.