Chemical compatibility chart Choose the chemical, see what each material does.
Silicone, FKM, PTFE, IIR, TPV, TPE and ULDPE against 50 chemicals, rated A to D from the Venair catalogue: the check before choosing a hose.
Check a chemical
7 Venair materials · rated A to D
Against
Ammonium hydroxide, concentrated NH₄OH
Excellent: Silicone, FEP/PFA/PTFE, IIR (Vena® Food), TPV, TPE and ULDPE.
- Silicone VMQ Excellent Silicone hoses
- FKM (Vena® Flexip) FKM Good Vena® Flexip
- FEP/PFA/PTFE PTFE Excellent PTFE hoses
- IIR (Vena® Food) IIR Excellent Vena® Food
- TPV TPV Excellent Single-use tubing
- TPE TPE Excellent Single-use tubing
- ULDPE ULDPE Excellent VENABIO® Bag 2D
The chart
Chemical compatibility chart for Venair materials.
Each cell is the Venair catalogue rating for that material against that chemical: A excellent, B good, C insufficient, D unsatisfactory. A dash is a cell the catalogue leaves blank. The table gives no temperature or contact time: if your product is hot or concentrated, ask us.
- A Excellent
- The top rating in the Venair table.
- B Good
- Compatible, one step below A.
- C Insufficient
- Limited compatibility: ask us before using it.
- D Unsatisfactory
- That material is not recommended with that chemical.
- – No data
- The Venair catalogue leaves the cell blank: ask us.
| Chemical | VMQ | FKM | PTFE | IIR | TPV | TPE | ULDPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water and steam | |||||||
| Drinking water | A | A | A | A | – | – | – |
| Brine | – | – | A | A | A | – | – |
| Steam below 177 °C (350 °F) | D | D | A | A | – | – | – |
| Steam above 177 °C (350 °F) | D | D | A | C | – | – | – |
| Bases | |||||||
| Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) | B | B | A | A | A | C | – |
| Caustic potash (potassium hydroxide) | C | B | A | A | A | A | A |
| Ammonium hydroxide, concentrated | A | B | A | A | A | A | A |
| Anhydrous ammonia | B | D | A | A | A | – | – |
| Sodium carbonate | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Acids | |||||||
| Nitric acid, dilute | B | A | A | B | – | A | C |
| Nitric acid, concentrated | D | A | A | D | C | – | C |
| Phosphoric acid 20% | B | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Phosphoric acid 45% | D | A | A | B | C | A | B |
| Hydrochloric acid 3 M | D | A | A | A | – | – | – |
| Hydrochloric acid 37%, cold | B | A | A | A | B | A | – |
| Hydrochloric acid 37%, hot | D | A | A | C | B | A | – |
| Oleum (fuming sulfuric acid) | D | A | A | D | D | – | – |
| Acetic acid 5% | A | A | A | A | A | A | – |
| Glacial acetic acid | B | D | A | B | A | C | D |
| Citric acid | A | A | A | A | A | – | D |
| Lactic acid | A | A | A | A | A | B | A |
| Cleaning and disinfection | |||||||
| Detergent solutions | A | A | A | A | B | – | D |
| Bleach | B | A | A | A | B | – | – |
| Hydrogen peroxide | A | A | A | A | A | A | – |
| Ozone | A | A | A | A | A | A | C |
| Formaldehyde | B | D | A | A | A | A | – |
| Alcohols and glycols | |||||||
| Ethanol | A | A | A | A | A | B | B |
| Methanol | A | A | A | A | A | – | A |
| Isopropyl alcohol | A | A | A | A | A | C | A |
| Butanol | B | A | A | B | A | B | B |
| Glycerine | A | A | A | A | A | B | A |
| Ethylene glycol | A | A | A | D | A | B | A |
| Glycols | A | A | A | A | A | – | – |
| Food and drink | |||||||
| Milk | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Beer | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Cane sugar liquor | A | A | A | A | A | – | – |
| Glucose | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Olive oil | D | A | A | B | B | – | A |
| Corn oil | A | A | A | C | B | – | – |
| Soybean oil | A | A | A | C | B | – | – |
| Animal fats | B | A | A | B | B | – | – |
| Oils and fuels | |||||||
| Mineral oils | B | A | A | D | D | B | – |
| Hydraulic oil (petroleum base) | C | A | A | D | D | – | C |
| Diesel | D | A | A | D | C | D | C |
| Gasoline | D | A | A | D | D | D | – |
| Solvents | |||||||
| Acetone | B | D | A | A | A | C | B |
| Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) | D | D | A | A | D | – | D |
| Ethyl acetate | B | D | A | B | A | D | – |
| Hexane | D | A | A | D | D | – | D |
| Toluene | – | A | A | D | D | D | C |
Source: the chemical compatibility table in the Venair catalogues (Life Science 2027, pp. 69–74; TPV, TPE and ULDPE from the Biopharm catalogue). Venair provides it for guidance only: actual performance depends on operating conditions, concentration, temperature and pressure; it is not a guarantee of suitability for a particular application, and validation under actual service conditions is recommended before use. Life Science 2027 catalogue (PDF)
Cleaning
CIP cleaning and steam sterilisation, per Venair hose.
The chart above is contact with the product. Cleaning is something else: cycles of hot water, steam, caustic and acid. These are the limits the Venair catalogue gives for each hose family.
| Cleaning | Silicone | Vena® Flexip | Vena® Flexpure | Venaflon® | Vena® Abrasil |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot water | up to 95 °C | up to 95 °C | up to 95 °C | up to 95 °C | up to 95 °C |
| Steam | 135 °C · 30 min | 130 °C · 30 min | 130 °C · 30 min | 121 °C · 30 min | 130 °C · 30 min |
| Caustic soda | 1% at 80 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 1% at 80 °C |
| Nitric or phosphoric acid | 0.5% at 80 °C 1% at 25 °C |
5% at 80 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 1% at 25 °C |
| Peracetic acid | 1% at 25 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 3% at 80 °C | 1% at 25 °C |
Source: Venair Life Science 2027 catalogue, p. 52. Leave at least 1 hour between steam cycles for the material to stabilise, and inspect the hose after 150 hours of sterilisation. Polyurethane hoses are not suitable for typical CIP cleaning.
How to read it
Three checks before trusting a rating.
-
01
Temperature and concentration
The catalogue gives one rating per chemical, with no temperature or contact time, and sometimes no concentration. Heat and concentration change the result: with 37% hydrochloric acid, silicone goes from B cold to D hot.
-
02
Contact is not cleaning
A material that resists a chemical in contact may not stand the cleaning cycles. For CIP and steam, see the cleaning table: silicone is rated D for continuous steam, but takes sterilisation cycles of 135 °C for 30 minutes.
-
03
The whole hose, not just the liner
The liner touches the product, but the cover, the fittings and the seals see it too. And a mixture can behave differently from its components on their own.
The materials
What the chart says about each material.
- Silicone VMQ
- Excellent with water, food, alcohols, glycols and mild organic acids such as 5% acetic, citric or lactic acid. Unsatisfactory with continuous steam, concentrated mineral acids, fuels, hexane and MEK.
- Silicone hoses
- FKM (Vena® Flexip) FKM
- The liner of Vena® Flexip: a Venair fluoroelastomer filled with PTFE particles. Excellent with mineral acids, concentrated ones included, mineral oils, fuels, hexane and toluene. Unsatisfactory with continuous steam, ketones, ethyl acetate, anhydrous ammonia and glacial acetic acid.
- Vena® Flexip
- FEP/PFA/PTFE PTFE
- Excellent with all 50 chemicals on this page and with virtually the whole table in the catalogue: the liner when the product is aggressive or changes.
- PTFE hoses
- IIR (Vena® Food) IIR
- Food-grade butyl, the liner of Vena® Food. Excellent with water, steam below 177 °C, bases, dairy, drinks, alcohols and ketones. Unsatisfactory with mineral oils, fuels and hydrocarbons.
- Vena® Food
- TPV TPV
- The thermoplastic of Vena® TPV Tech tubing. Excellent with bases, organic acids, alcohols, glycols, food and acetone. Unsatisfactory with mineral oils, gasoline, hexane and toluene.
- Single-use tubing
- TPE TPE
- The material of Vena® TPE Flex Tech bioprocess tubing. Excellent with phosphoric and hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide, milk and glucose; insufficient with caustic soda, isopropyl alcohol and acetone; unsatisfactory with fuels, ethyl acetate and toluene. Many cells in the catalogue are blank.
- Single-use tubing
- ULDPE ULDPE
- The product-contact layer of the VENABIO® Bag film. Excellent with bases, phosphoric acid, most alcohols, glycols, milk and glucose; unsatisfactory with glacial acetic acid, citric acid, detergents, MEK and hexane. Many cells in the catalogue are blank.
- VENABIO® Bag 2D
Questions
What engineers ask about chemical compatibility.
01 Where do these ratings come from?
From the chemical compatibility table in the Venair catalogues: Life Science 2027 (pp. 69–74) for silicone, FKM, PTFE and IIR, and the Biopharm catalogue for TPV, TPE and ULDPE. It is the same table in every catalogue, with more than 800 chemicals; here are the 50 most common in a plant.
02 Which hose material resists caustic soda?
In the Venair table, PTFE, IIR and TPV are rated A against caustic soda; silicone and FKM, B; and TPE, C. For CIP cleaning, the catalogue allows 3% caustic at 80 °C in Vena® Flexip, Vena® Flexpure and Venaflon®, and 1% at 80 °C in silicone and Vena® Abrasil.
03 Can silicone take steam?
It depends on whether it is continuous contact or cleaning. The compatibility table rates silicone D for steam, but the cleaning table in the same catalogue allows sterilisation cycles of 135 °C for 30 minutes, with at least 1 hour between cycles. For continuous steam below 177 °C, the catalogue rates PTFE and IIR A.
04 What is the FKM in the chart?
The “FKM (Vena Flexip)” column of the catalogue: the liner of Vena® Flexip, a fluoroelastomer developed by Venair and filled with PTFE particles. It is rated A with mineral acids, mineral oils and fuels, and D with continuous steam and ketones.
05 Why do some cells show a dash?
Because the Venair catalogue leaves them blank: it gives no rating for that material against that chemical. It happens mostly with TPE and ULDPE, the single-use materials. If your chemical falls in one, ask us.
06 Is a compatibility chart enough to choose a hose?
No. Venair provides it for guidance: the real result depends on temperature, concentration, pressure and time, and validation under actual service conditions is recommended. Send us your conditions and a Venair engineer will recommend a hose.