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  • Ask The Experts: How to Meet Higher Pressure Requirements with the Right Single-Use Hose

Q: What considerations do biopharma operations need to make in order to ensure they select the right single-use high-pressure hose for their process?

A: For biopharma operations, moving processing equipment from one suite to another is commonplace. This practice creates the need for custom-built hose assemblies, which provide operators flexibility when deploying the equipment in an environment that isn’t configured exactly the same as the previous location. But selecting the right single-use hose for the application, especially for clarification processes, takes some knowhow.

High Pressure Is the New Norm
When selecting a single-use hose for clarification procedures, operators need to consider many factors, including:

  • Temperature requirements
  • Line size
  • Is it throttling up or down?
  • What pH levels will it be exposed to?
  • What pressure will the hose assembly need to withstand?

This last point is one of the most critical considerations for meeting the demands of today’s advanced biopharma processing equipment that has higher flow rates.

“Operators used to be able to rely on tubing that had low working pressures, but this is not sufficient for modern quaternary diaphragm pumps that are able to provide much higher flow and pressure rates,” said Leighton Terwilliger, Hose and Single Use Product Manager at Casella Process Solutions, a Fluid Flow company.

Higher pressure hoses enable operators to retire their low-pressure/low flow-rate peristaltic pumps and switch to a pump that provides a much wider range of flow rates, such as pumps from Quattroflow Fluid Systems. Single-use platinum-cured braided silicone hose assemblies from PurityOne™, for example, range from 60 to 100 PSI and are ideal solutions for both upstream and downstream processes including TFF skids, depth filtration, chromatography skids and columns, UF skids and tank-to-tank applications. Furthermore, the polypropylene (PP), polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) and aseptic connectors from PurityOne™ are engineered for high-pressure applications to ensure reliable operation.

Eliminating Wasted Time & Costs
One of the advantages of single-use high-pressure hoses and aseptic connections is that they don’t need to be autoclaved, which saves about an hour to 90 minutes of downtime.

Another way to optimize biopharma processing is to initiate start-up as quickly as possible. Traditionally, turn-around times for custom-built hose assemblies can be pretty lengthy. This can be overcome by working with a supplier who can consistently offer shorter lead times. With its cleanroom advantage, Purity One™ is able to produce custom-built assemblies in significantly less time than other biopharma equipment suppliers.

High-pressure hoses come in a range of price points. The single-use high-pressure hoses from PurityOne™ are more affordable than some of the alternatives. Additionally, Purity One™ puts the highest priority on meeting their customer’s unique needs with the most suitable solution. For example, if the application doesn’t warrant the temperature and pressure capabilities of an existing Purity One™ product, the team will go the extra mile to find a solution that better meets the specified requirements.

To inquire about adding a Purity One™ custom-built single-use high-pressure hose assembly to your clarification process, please visit the Purity One™ website or call 413-320-4650.