13.3 Steam supply to the sterilizer chamber
13.3.1Non-condensable gases
The sterilizer shall be designed to operate with saturated steam containing up to 3.5ml non-condensable gases collected from 100ml condensate when tested described as in 21.1.
Note This method does not necessarily express the true content of NCG in steam.The limiting value was defined experimentally in the 1960s in relation to the sensitivity fo air detectors commonly used in the UK at that time.Repeated measurements give an idea of the true picture of the NCGs in the steam supply.
13.3.2 Dryness value
The sterilizer shall be designed to operate with saturated steam with a dryness value not less than 0.95,where the dryness value denotes the mass of the gas fraction in the mass of saturated steam,when tested as described in 21.2.
13.3.3 Superheat
When the supplied steam is expanded to atmospheric pressure the superheat shall note exceed 25K when tested in accordance with 21.3