There are different types of steel materials used in piping applications. The Stainless Steel Tube is one of the most used steel tubes in a variety of applications. The applications include food and beverages industry, chemical processing industry, aerospace industry, sea water applications, heat exchangers and power generation plants. The food and beverages industry is special in that it cannot have any impurities or pollutants in its products. That will directly affect humans in a negative way. So the piping used in the food sector should be carefully deployed.
There are steel grades that are called food grades. This grade of Stainless Steel Tube pieces has specific requirements. One of the most important quality is corrosion resistance; especially the oxidation corrosion resistance. The steel should not react with any other material in the pipe line. So that specific steel grades are used. Also, the surface finish is important in food grade steel, because the interior of the pipe cannot have serrations. Serrations could amplify corrosive, oxidizing or reduction reactions. The surface roughness of the pipe is therefore measured and controlled to be at a maximum of 0.5 μm. The erw stainless steel tube as well as the seamless pipe is used in food grade applications according to the requirements. Some of the food materials are less reactive than others. The price of ss 304 tube is affordable for food industries. Therefore 304 is one of the preferred materials used in food industries. Where acidic or other reactive food substance is processed, the material choice alternates.
