OIL FREE SCREW & SCROLL AIR COMPRESSOR IN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

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OIL FREE SCREW & SCROLL AIR COMPRESSOR IN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

In pharmaceutical factories, compressed air is mainly used in filling machines for liquid preparations, granulators, pulping machines, filling machines, packaging machines, and printers for solid preparations, and extraction tanks in the extraction process. In addition, there are gases for testing, material transportation, drying, purging, pneumatic instruments, automatic control gases, etc.

 

In pharmaceutical production, there are usually strict hygiene standards. Especially in clean rooms, production needs to be carried out in an environment free of bacteria, particles, water and contaminated oil. Therefore, there are also high requirements for compressed air, because it often comes into direct contact with the product itself during the production process in the pharmaceutical industry, and the compressed air must be sterile or oil-free.

 

Although the compressed air pharmaceutical industry has many rules in place, such as IGMP, FDA and European Pharmacopoeia, these rules do not define any compressed air quality class for individual applications. Therefore, every pharmaceutical company must determine which compressed air quality is required for the production process according to ISO 8573-1. Different processes in the pharmaceutical industry have different requirements for compressed air. The following are some basic processes:

 

1. Tablet pressing

Compressed air is required during tablet production, and the compressed air comes into direct contact with the product. This direct product contact occurs after the tablet press, where compressed air is used to remove dust particles or remove problematic product. Oil-free and dry air is important in this case, otherwise it can cause the compressed tablets to swell, for example. Compressed air can also be used to apply lubricant to the tablet press to make the tablets easier to eject.

 

But compressed air is already used when mixing powder mixtures or producing granules for tablet presses. Compressed air is also used in a post-pressing step known as coating, i.e. coating or encapsulation. A common process is the fluidized bed process, where air flow ensures that the tablets float and are in constant motion. Spray them with the help of a nozzle, moisten and dry evenly. Compressed air is used here and in other processes as atomizing air and is then considered a processing aid; therefore, there are high demands on its purity. In addition to end-user health risks, typical problems in tablet production include blistering, tablet cracking or color fluctuations. Moist and oily compressed air may be a cause.

 

Not only does the machine need to be cleaned, the vials, ampoules and bottles in which the medication is filled also need special cleaning. Compressed air is used here for drying. Another cleaning method is dry ice blasting. Dry ice strikes the surface to be cleaned and removes deposits. The separated sediments are then blown away with compressed air.

 

Filters must be cleaned in fluidized bed systems during production. This can be done by blowing out the filter system. Compressed air is used to return accumulated material to the process. Here, too, there is direct product contact, which results in high quality requirements for the compressed air. Another application is the cleaning of vials, bottles and ampoules: compressed air is also used here to dry the containers and remove the last particles. This usually happens in clean rooms.

 

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