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steam autoclaves (also referred to as sterilizers) are common and essential pieces of equipment in today’s microbiology and animal labs; however, traditionally consume a significant amount of water.
purchasing a steam autoclave that conserves water is a sound investment, ultimately to preserve the environment, save money, and ideally leed points. in example, one small to medium sized traditional autoclave might use upwards of 1 million gallons of water per year. with the conservation of natural resources being increasingly important, is a societal and financial concern.
fortunately, a variety of autoclave water-saving tactics have been developed in recent years to meet the demands of water use conservation. these strategies are also labs leed points and ashrae 198.1-2009 compliance for new construction ventures.
water consumption technology in traditional steam autoclaves
there are three reasons a steam autoclave consumes water – steam generation, effluent cooling, and vacuum generation. let’s take a look at each.
#1. steam generation: at its core, an autoclave is designed to use pressurized, temperature steam to kill viruses, bacteria, and/or other microorganisms that can exist in any load in the chamber of a sterilizer. these chambers are usually double-walled containers with a space known as the “jacket” between the walls. as an autoclave is turned on and in the idle state, jacket is filled with steam to pre-heat the unit in preparation for operation. tap water or purified water is the source of steam. water consumption source will be called water source number one, or ws1.
#2. effluent cooling: autoclaves also use water to cool the waste produce. during both an idle state and mid-sterilization, steam is always condensing the sterilizer and then being discharged to a floor drain. due to building codes, all waste (or effluent) must be cooled to below 140°f before discharge and is , for the most part, by introducing raw, cold water to a sterilizer’s waste stream, immediately discharging the entire mixture to the drain. cooling water will be referred to as water source number two, or ws2. unfortunately, many older model autoclaves engage a “constant-bleed” of cold water to cool waste; means cold water passes through the sterilizer toward the drain 24/7, even when the sterilizer is off. the result is 1,500-2,500 gallons of raw, cooling water (ws2) being used per day, and is equal to nearly 1 million gallons per year.
#3. vacuum generation: autoclaves also use water to create a vacuum because in certain types of loads the unit it is necessary to remove air and ensure proper sterilization. is by drawing a vacuum. autoclaves either use either a venturi based water-ejector or a liquid ring pump (lrp) to create the vacuum. in both systems, the water used to create the vacuum is immediately directed to the drain. water source will be referred to as water source number three, or ws3. note, most autoclaves are provided with a water-ejector because of the lower upfront costs, unless a liquid ring pump is specified. an autoclave equipped with a liquid ring pump does save water, a substantial opportunity for further water savings remains because the water used by the vacuum system is typically sent directly to drain, is not the most efficient process.
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