Facts
Peristaltic and 4-piston diaphragm pumps are based on mechanical contact between moving parts such as tube compression or valve interaction. Mechanical contact between moving parts can lead to particle shedding, which leads to product contamination.
Levitronix^® pumps have no mechanical contact between moving parts.

Test conditions
The Levitronix^® PuraLev^® 600SU pump, a 4-Piston Diaphragm Pump, and a peristaltic pump were evaluated for particle shedding. A fixed volume of ultrapure water was recirculated by each pump at a flow rate of 16 l/min and backpressures of 1 and 2.5 bar, respectively. The particle level was measured at selected times and compared.

Results
The peristaltic and 4-Piston Diaphragm pumps generated particle levels 2-3 orders of magnitude greater than the PuraLev^® 600SU pump. Regardless of operating conditions, the concentration of particles downstream of the Levitronix^® pump was near the detected background-level for the system.

Cumulative particle size distributions at 16 lpm and 2.5 bar