New sinusoidal pump for transferring syrups, oils, creams and gels

Watson-Marlow's new Certa Plus sinusoidal pump provides a sustainable solution for shear sensitive, viscous pharmaceutical products.

Compared with conventional lobe pumps, the new sinusoidal Certa Plus technology offers pharmaceutical manufacturers lower shear, lower power consumption, full traceability, and ultimate cleanability when transferring syrups, oils, creams and gels.

Certa Plus provides virtually pulsation-free product flow with no need for ancillary dampeners. This improves both flow meter accuracy and heat exchanger efficiency. The low shear handling minimises the temperature increase of the pumped liquid, as well as improving batch consistency and final product quality.

The new pump series is capable of transferring and handling a wide range of challenging products from syrups and sugar solutions to lozenge products.

Its continuous flow and high suction support the efficient manufacture of pastille products. Syrup and sugar solutions can also be processed with ease as the seal flush reduces the risk of sugar-based products drying out at the seal.

Across pharmaceutical applications, varying temperatures result in products with varying viscosities. For example, in the production of suppositories, pumping at lower temperature means an increased viscosity of the product. The powerful suction of the Certa Plus handles both low viscous liquids such as oils, and high viscous products, such as creams and gels, with ease.

Clean in place capabilities enable ease of cleaning and allow the pump to be easily integrated into an aseptic fluid path. The pump can then be wet cleaned without dismantling and is steam sterilisable and bacteria-tight to remove the risk of residuals and contamination. Certa Plus has full aseptic certification (EHEDG Type EL Class I and EHEDG Type EL Aseptic Class I) and all components are made of FDA and USP Class VI certified raw materials.

The pump also offers an energy-efficient alternative, requiring up to 50% less power than lobe or circumferential piston pumps, greatly reducing electricity use and hence carbon footprint.