Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.
Original content can be found on Parker’s Blog.


New Sealing Material HiFluor® FB for Hygienically Sensitive Applications

HiFluor® FB - Hygienically Sensitive Sealing MaterialBe it in the production of food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics or medical devices coming into contact with the human body, excellent purity and media resistance combined with a wide range of robust properties is always required of the materials used for the components in the manufacturing processes. Specifically for these challenging applications, Parker has developed a new sealing compound with very good mechanical properties and excellent permanent elasticity: HiFluor® FB V8991.

Fluoroelastomeric materials have proven their viability in chemical and food processing, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and life science applications involving non-polar solvents, aliphatic compounds, greases, oils and aromatic substances whenever the resistance of standard materials such as hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) and ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM) is no longer sufficient.

Innovative “Pure” Sealing Solution HiFluor® FB V8991

As a compound and seal manufacturer, Parker Prädifa, in the light of the growing demands made on sealing elements in the aforementioned markets, has developed a HiFluor® FB compound with very good mechanical properties and excellent permanent elasticity.

With its properties profile shown in Table 1, HiFluor® FB V8991 proves to be the compound of choice in hygienic and aseptic applications.

HiFluor® FB - Physical Data

O-rings and molded parts made of the newly developed HiFluor® FB compound V8991 are also particularly well suited for use in direct contact with the food or pharmaceutical products. In addition, Parker Prädifa always attaches major importance to compliance with the laws and regulations in target markets when developing new compound solutions forHiFLuor® FB - Chemical Makeup chemical and process engineering. Particularly in processes requiring a high level of purity of the final product, the meantime between failure (MTBF) of the component used is very important. A sealing element that has been attacked by chemicals will release particles that may enter the food product or batch of pharmaceutical ingredients, making them unfit for consumption. This may result in major financial losses. Due to its proven very good media resistance, the HiFluor® FB compound is superbly suited for use in many food, pharmaceutical and life science applications.

Characteristics of HiFluor® FB V8991

  • Outstanding resistance in use with alkalis, acids, greases, oils and aromatic substances
  • Good resistance in use with CIP/SIP media, steam up to 150 °C
  • Wide temperature application range from -25 °C to 200 °C
  • Very pure material, free from phtalates and mineral oil based plasticizers
  • Approvals/conformities
  • FDA Section 21 CFR177.2600
    - USP Class VI
    - 3-A Sanitary Standards Class I + II
    - Free of animal-derived ingredients
    - BNIC
    - Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004
    - Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 (REACH)
    - RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU

Higher Process Quality, Productivity and Safety Thanks to HiFluor® FB V8991

After using seals made of HiFluor® FB V8991, customers in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and life science sectors have confirmed that they were able to increase MTBF for repaired units by 300 percent. In addition to improving their process quality, customers were able to considerably increase their productivity and the safety of their products which, not least thanks to the sealing compound, are fully traceable.

A Success Story from the Field

HiFluor® FB - Success StorySmoothies have literally been on everyone’s lips in recent years. The pureed fruit or vegetables offered in small containers have become a staple on supermarket cooling shelves. Easy to consume on the fly, smoothies cater for our modern lifestyle while giving us the reassuring feeling of getting plenty of vitamins and strengthening our immune system.

Unlike fruit juices, smoothies are produced from the whole fruit which may even include the skin. Bananas are often a basic ingredient, although juices, water, green tea, milk, other dairy products or coconut milk are used as well, depending on the recipe. Some smoothies even contain chocolate or peanut butter. The wide variety of fruit acids, aromatic or flavoring substances and dairy products, combined with abrasive components, poses a major challenge to the entire processing chain, particularly the seals in the production and bottling lines. Many standard sealing compounds no longer meet these demands.

More Information:
EMG Report Edition November 2016, Page 18
Brochure: Materials for the Chemical Process and Food Industries, Page 12


This article was contributed by Elke Vöhringer-Klein, Market Manager - Chemical Processing Industry, Engineered Materials Group Europe - Prädifa Technology Division

Source: http://blog.parker.com/new-sealing-material-hifluor-fb-for-hygienically-sensitive-applications