Process Equipment

An autoclave is a pressure vessel that uses pressurized steam to heat the product to achieve sterilization.

Autoclaves come in a wide variety of sizes, from small bench-top laboratory autoclaves to large production autoclaves.

The larger autoclaves can be used for sterilizing large volume parenterals such as those found in pouches. Bottles and ampoules are typically sterilized in smaller autoclaves.

Whatever the nature of the load, the product is loaded in trays or cages to optimize the distribution of the load.

It is important for validation purposes that the load is standardized, therefore full loads are usually used.