Cosmetic & Pharmaceutical

Compressed Air Preparation and Pumps for Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Production

Cosmetic and pharmaceutical plants run on small, precise amounts of compressed air. It removes dust from tablets after the press and rejects faulty units, supplies coating equipment, drives filling nozzles and cappers, and operates the valves on mixing and transfer skids, often inside or next to a controlled area. That gives the air two jobs: it must not carry contamination into the product, and whatever it releases must not degrade the room around it. The ARO range on this page is built around that work, with mostly 0.3 micron coalescing filtration, filter-regulators in metal or poly bowls, relieving and non-relieving regulators from 1/8", in-line valves for fine flow control, and Compact Series pumps that include groundable models for static-sensitive chemical duty.

Three Questions to Ask About Every Air Line

No single harmonized regulation sets compressed air quality for pharmaceutical or cosmetic production. Plants define their own specification, usually in ISO 8573-1 purity classes, and support it with pharmacopoeia requirements and industry guidance. Three questions shape that specification for each point of use:

• Does it touch product? Air that blows dust off tablets, conveys powders or contacts primary packaging is product-contact air and gets the tightest specification, set by the manufacturer against ISO 8573-1 and confirmed by testing.
• Where does it exhaust? Air released from regulators, valves and cylinders inside a controlled area should be no dirtier than the room air it joins. Point-of-use coalescing filtration and the choice between relieving and non-relieving regulators both affect this.
• Which GMP framework applies? Pharmaceutical plants work to cGMP (21 CFR Part 211 in the US, and EU GMP including Annex 1 for sterile products). Cosmetic plants commonly work to ISO 22716. Each expects utilities that can affect the product to be specified, controlled and monitored.

Coalescing Filters, and How to Read the Part Number

Most filters on this page are 0.3 micron coalescing types, with a 5 micron particulate option at 1/2" and 1" for lines that need a first stage. The three digits after the dash tell you everything that changes between versions of the same filter:

• First digit 3 = 0.3 micron coalescing element, 4 = 5 micron particulate element
• Second digit 0 = poly bowl, 150 psi maximum inlet; 1 = metal bowl, 250 psi maximum inlet
• Third digit 0 = manual drain, 1 = automatic drain

So F35342-301 is a 1/2" coalescing filter with a poly bowl and automatic drain, and F35342-410 is the 5 micron particulate version with a metal bowl and manual drain.

Metal or Poly Bowl?

Both bowl types are offered here on filters and filter-regulators, and the right one depends on the room as much as the air line.

Filter-Regulators for Machine-Mounted Air

A piggyback filter-regulator mounts directly on a filler, capper or coating skid and handles filtration and pressure in one body. Every filter-regulator on this page has a manual drain, so build bowl checks into the line's routine. The 0.3 micron models have a 0–140 psi range; the 5 micron models here use the lower 0–60 and 0–30 psi ranges.

Relieving or Non-Relieving: Deciding Where the Air Goes

Turn a relieving regulator down and it releases surplus downstream pressure through its own body, so the setting takes effect at once. A non-relieving regulator holds that air in the line instead, which keeps it out of the room. The trade-off is that downstream pressure only falls as equipment uses the air.

Diaphragm Pumps for Solvents, Cleaning Agents and Utility Transfer

The Compact Series 1/2" air-operated double diaphragm pumps on this page are utility pumps for pharma industrial processes and cosmetic production, covering chemical transfer around the plant: moving cleaning and sanitizing agents, solvents and other process chemicals from drums and totes. All run on plant air, self-prime and handle solids up to 3/32", with a 100 psi maximum discharge pressure.

A groundable body only helps if the pump is actually grounded, so confirm grounding and any hazardous-area requirements for your installation with ARO before use. The 637140-44 PTFE/PTFE fluid section kit is stocked for 1/2" Classic pumps.

Fine Flow Control on Small Lines

Small cylinders on fillers, cappers, cartoners and blister lines need speed set precisely and repeatably, and purge or dedusting air often needs only a trickle. ARO In-Line Composite valves cover both from 1/8". Flow control valves set actuator speed, needle valves meter small flows in one direction, and check valves hold pressure and stop backflow. All are rated to 200 psi inlet.

Specifying and Documenting Point-of-Use Air

Inspections often find that compressed air was never clearly specified or qualified. Treating each point-of-use station as a documented component closes that gap.

• Specify Record the required ISO 8573-1 class, filter rating, bowl type and regulator range for each point of use.
• Standardize Replace like for like by full part number, so the element, bowl, drain and pressure range stay exactly as specified.
• Maintain Swap coalescing elements at set intervals instead of cleaning them, and empty manual-drain bowls on a fixed schedule.
• Verify Test air quality to ISO 8573 at the intervals your quality system sets, including microbiological testing where GMP requires it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Precise Air for Regulated Production

In regulated production, the air at each machine has to be both right and provable. Coalescing filtration close to the product, bowls and regulators chosen for the room, and part numbers that make every station easy to specify and replace like for like give engineering and quality teams the same answer when they check a line.

Everything in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical range is listed above. The complete ARO lines of filters, piggybacks, regulators, flow control and needle valves, diaphragm pumps and parts and kits are in the main catalog. For neighboring applications, see the food and beverage and packaging ranges.