In many industrial, and even commercial activities, there is a need for highly specialised equipment. When it comes to working with high temperatures or pressures for any application, the ideal solution needs to be found that protects the operator from harm while ensuring high quality manufacturing processes. While there are plenty of ways to address these needs, one often overlooked solution provides ideal functionality in this regard, autoclaves. Found in businesses and factories all over South Africa, there are a number of good reasons why they should be used. So to help you get a better understanding of what they are, here is everything you need to know about these versatile pieces of machinery.

What are They Exactly?

Autoclaves (also called retort by the food industry), are essentially pressurised chambers that allow the user to control levels of pressure and heat within the chamber. They are used widely across various industries, and even in homes, where they come in the form of stovetop autoclaves otherwise known as pressure cookers. They are typically used to sterilise equipment, especially in the medical field, but also have a range of other applications and uses.

Use in Medicine

As mentioned above, autoclaves are commonly used to sterilise medical equipment, but they serve the medical field in a number of ways as well. They are often used in the process of creating prosthetics and are also ideal for sterilising medical waste. Because of this, they are important for medicine in poorer countries where equipment such as needles may need to be used more than once instead of discarded once they have performed their function.

For Research

Where research is concerned, producing accurate data relies on the researcher’s ability to control the testing environment, particularly with regards to pressure, air contamination and temperature. Often, control environments need to be kept separate from ambient ones; and due to the high-pressure operations of autoclaves, they are often one of the most effective and affordable ways of doing this.

Specific Production

Autoclaves have a wide range of production applications as well. They are commonly used by the rubber industry for vulcanisation, which adds sulphur or other curing elements to convert rubber into more durable materials.

Contact Steam Generation to Find Out More

If you would like more information on how you can source high quality autoclaves for your specific processes, contact a representative from Steam Generation today, or visit our website for further details on our Retorts and boilers. We are waiting for your call.