With the newly developed “AF 680”, the independent seal manufacturer C. Otto Gehrckens is expanding its product range with an FEPM material for critical fields of application in food production and related industries. An especially devised AFLAS® base polymer was used for the innovative formulation. The important FDA 21 CFR 177.2600 approval, which is pertinent for the industry, is a novel feature of the special sealing material compounded by COG. What’s more, it is absolutely reliable in applications with SIP and CIP processes.
Low swelling in high temperatures
Unlike peroxide-cured FKM high-performance materials, this new FEPM compound is also fully compatible with the increasingly required, more aggressive cleaning cycles with brine (base) flushing at high temperatures (approx. 140 °C). Even in high-temperature SIP processes at approximately 150 °C, the volume swelling of the new FEPM sealing material is extremely low. That makes this compound ideal for use in the tight installation spaces of the sterile threaded connections in accordance with hygienic design. As an AFLAS® series high-performance elastomer, AF 680 is highly resistant to many different chemicals as well as flavouring agents and essential oils. The very attractive price level compared to many peroxide-cured high-performance FKM compounds and, in particular, the extremely costly FFKM materials (perfluoroelastomeric compounds) as well as compatibility with operating temperatures up to +230 °C complete the performance profile of AF 680. For design engineers and users, the combination of all these features make this FEPM material a highly interesting, clean solution for challenging food industry applications.
