Sunday, January 23, 2011

Scoping out Industrial Autoclaves

By Mondo Humboldt


An autoclave is a pressurized vessel that applies pressure and heat to a load placed inside of it. There are dry heat autoclaves or manual and automatic steam autoclaves. The advantage of using an autoclave is that it can reach temperatures higher than boiling water alone, so it can kill not only bacteria but also bacterial spores, which tend to be resistant. Many autoclaves are designed to sterilize a variety of equipment. They use the saturated steam concentrated under high pressure to effectively sterilize materials.

Heat and pressure, when applied correctly, can yield a number of benefits besides sterilizing equipment. Autoclave systems are used for many technical industries. Autoclaves have been designed specifically for glass laminating, composites curing, production, laboratory use, and many other uses.

ASC Process Systems is a leading autoclave manufacturer and makes several types of Industrial Autoclaves. ASC Process Systems is most known for manufacturing one of the largest autoclaves in the world. The gigantic autoclave was designed for Vought Aircraft in Charleston, South Carolina and is 30 ft. in diameter x 76 ft. long. The super autoclave entered production In July 2006 for fabrication of fuselage sections 47 and 48 of the new Boeing 787 airliner. It has a max temperature of 450F, and a max pressure of 150 psig, and it also weighs over 1,000,000 lbs.

There are so many things Industrial Autoclaves can be used for so they are designed to meet each individual customer's application. However, processing by Industrial Autoclaves costs a lot more than oven heating.An externally fired heater can bring fluid to temperatures of 600 F (316 C) to 800 F (427 C) in some cases. This drives the price up. Over the full service life of the autoclave, the most cost-effective heating options will be either a gas-firing autoclave using an internal or external heat exchanger or a high-pressure steam boiler. The system known as the Compression Reduction System provides compression energy savings of up to 40% per load. The Compression Reduction System can save about $30,000 per year per autoclave and reduces compressor maintenance.

ASC Process Systems also manufactures the Econoclave is for small-scale production. The Econoclave is an affordable aerospace-grade autoclave used for composite curing, composite bonding, glass laminating, cement manufacturing, vulcanizing, food processing, and waste treatment. The Econoclave incorporates many design features that reduce autoclave size, improve air-flow to the parts, reduce equipment cost, reduce energy cost, and reduce cost of operation.

Industrial Autoclaves vary according to size as well as the functions offered. This means the price tag will vary, as well as the cost to run each autoclave. It is best to do as much research as possible when looking for an autoclave to provide a particular function. The cost will depend largely upon its diameter rather than its length. Some of the features of an autoclave allow a wide range of options, and some of these can affect price dramatically. For the best information, consult with an Industrial Autoclave manufacturing company such as ASC Process Systems to determine what your particular autoclave needs are.




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