PW, WFI & Pharmaceutical Steam and Pure Steam

Water is the most widely used product in the pharmaceutical industry. As a service fluid it is essential for washing and given its high specific heat, it is used in heat exchangers, both for providing and absorbing heat. It is present in a vast amount of products as a raw material, and is often the main component. Furthermore, ‘pharmaceutical water' is one of the few raw materials that is normally prepared on site, by further purification of drinking water or purified water.

As for steam, there are two types in the pharmaceutical industry:

Industrial steam:

This is the steam produced in boilers, used as a utility and which does not come into contact with the product and process equipment. It is not pure steam, as it usually contains several additives to protect the boilers and pipes from precipitation, corrosion, etc.

Pharmaceutical steam:

This is steam produced from treated water, free from volatile additives, basically used for sterilizing products, conditioning material or process equipment with which it comes into contact.

In the pharmaceutical industry, Clean Steam is the steam generated from treated water, free from volatile additives, such as amines and hydrazines. When the steam condensation complies with the pharmacopoeia parameters for injectable quality water, it is called Pure Steam.