Favourable Letter of Opinion from FDA Offers Comfort to Equipment Manufacturers

Phil Black - PII Editor 05/06/2015

145 1 minute read

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Morgan Advanced Materials has announced that it has received a favourable letter of opinion from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a variety of its carbon/graphite, sintered silicon carbide, and reaction bonded silicon carbide materials produced by its Seals and Bearings business.

The letter of opinion covers repeated-use wear components for food applications, including mechanical face seals, bearing, bushings, vanes, and rotors.

Previously acknowledged as the GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) designation provided by FDA, the letter of opinion offers a level of comfort to equipment manufacturers and their end user customers that the materials are considered safe by experts.

Morgan’s carbon/graphite and silicon carbide materials possess superior tribological and wear characteristics, making them an ideal choice for mechanical seal faces and bearings. They are ideally suited for use in food industry pump and mixer applications because of their dimensional stability and chemical inertness. They are also well suited to high temperature ovens in which seal faces come into contact with food products, which precludes the use of typical lubricated bearings.

Carbon graphite also contains outstanding thermal properties and resilience, making it an exemplary material for components exposed to extreme temperatures, speeds, and a variety of corrosive fluids. Morgan’s materials are corrosion resistant at varying pH levels. They can be submerged in liquid without shedding debris, unlike other lubricated seals and bearings.

Morgan’s application engineers work closely with customers to tailor materials for specific applications, guaranteeing a perfect match for use in the end application.