| 摘要 |
A plurality of storage tanks for bulk storage of materials under aseptic conditions in which valves associated with the tanks have chambers filled with liquid chemical sterilant surrounding movable valve actuators for preventing the influx, via the valve actuators, of contaminants to the material stored in the tanks. The chemical sterilant is unheated to prevent the transfer of heat from the sterilant to the stored material. The sterilant chambers are connected serially to form a cascade between a source of fresh sterilant and a chemical analyzer, with the chambers which become more contaminated in use being connected in the cascade more remote from the fresh sterilant supply. The sterilant chambers are recharged with fresh sterilant by a flow of fresh sterilant from the supply through the cascade, which flow is terminated when the sterilant leaving the last chamber of the cascade upon analysis by the chemical analyzer has reached a sterile level indicating that the fresh sterilant has propagated through the cascaded chambers successively flushing the chambers in the cascade of inactive, or stale, sterilant and replenishing the chambers with fresh sterilant. Each sterilant chamber is provided with an inlet passage and an outlet passage located at the bottom and top of the chambers, respectively, such that fresh sterilant enters the bottom of the chamber, forcing inactive, or stale, sterilant from the chamber through the top, insuring complete recharging of the entire chamber with fresh sterilant.
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