Sanitary Valve: Choosing between butterfly valve, ball valve, and check valves for your process

Sanitary Check Valves, Ball Valves, and Butterfly Valves

Sanitary Butterfly Valve

Overview:

Butterfly valves are designed with a disc mounted on a rotating shaft that opens and closes to allow and block off flow.

Advantages:

Sanitary butterfly valves are smaller and thinner than three piece body ball valves and check valves, therefore have an advantage if space is limited. They are also the lightest among the three. Hygienic butterfly valves are also the cheapest compared to the others. Stainless steel butterfly valves can also be installed vertically and horizontally.

Disadvantages:

There is a risk of obstruction due to the butterfly valve’s disc, especially for more viscous medium. The rubber seat will not be as robust as a ball valve’s Teflon seat for frequent throttling, and will need to be replaced more often.

Hygienic Check Valve

Overview:

Check valves are designed with a disc pushing against a spring to automatically allow flow at a certain opening pressure.

Advantages:

Sanitary check valves are designed specifically for backflow prevention, this ensures fluids only flow in one direction and contamination is prevented. They are cheaper and more compact than ball valves.

Disadvantages:

Hygienic check valves are known to fail when its disc and spring is trapped by viscous medium. They are also more challenging to clean thoroughly and might require frequent manual cleaning. Certain check valves can only be installed horizontally. Stainless steel check valves contain more wear and tear parts that need to be replaced compared to ball and butterfly valves.

Hygienic Ball Valve

Overview:

Ball valves are designed with a spherical ball with a hole in its center which can be turned to be parallel or perpendicular to the flow.

Advantages:

Sanitary Three Piece Body Ball Valves can handle higher working pressures compared to butterfly and check valves. The ball valve’s Teflon seat is also much more durable than the rubber gaskets in the other two valves. Hygienic ball valves work best for thicker and debris filled mediums due to its full bore. 3 way sanitary ball valves are also available for diverting and mixing without using multiple valves.

Disadvantages:

Stainless steel three piece body ball valves are the most expensive compared to the other valves. They are also the bulkiest, making them unsuitable for small spaces, and applications where frequent dismantling is required.

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NKE Flow Components is an importer and supplier of hygienic valves, check out our sanitary valve page to find out more.