In 2019 Evalar was increasing its production capacity by installing new production lines of solid dosage form. Such type of production generates fine dust at different processes. Organic pharmaceutical dust is potentially explosive, therefore it is extremely important to provide safe and clean workplace both to meet GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and occupational safety and health standards.
Evalar company is the biggest Russian producer of dietary supplements. The company is located in Altai region, South-West Siberia. Altai is an unique place, which includes six natural landscapes: tundra, forest, steppe, semi-desert, sub-alpine and alpine zones. The diversity of valuable plants of Altai includes more than 600 plant species of medicinal, edible and honey plants. More than 100 endemic plants are found here. They include especially valuable medicinal plants, such as the golden root (Rhodiola rosea), maral root (Rhaponticum carthamoides), and urals peony (Paeonia anomala). Many endemics are successfully used by Evalar in the production of dietary supplements and medicines. Most of the raw materials used by the company in the manufacturing process are grown on its own plantations in the environmentally pristine foothills of Altai.
“The company Evalar fully satisfies international quality standards such as GMP, ISO and FSSC 22000,” Alexey Sergievich said, a HVAC engineer at Evalar.
During 2018 and 2019 Evalar was increasing its production capacity by installing new production lines of solid dosage form. Such type of production generates fine dust in different processes. Organic pharmaceutical dust is potentially explosive, therefore it is extremely important to provide safe and clean workplace both to meet GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and occupational safety and health standards.
“Authorities place very high demands to pharmaceuticals producers with relations to prevention of environmental pollution and prevention of cross-contamination of raw materials during production. For these reasons, clean air is very important to provide quality and safe production,” Alexey Sergievich said.
Dust extraction systems are used to extract airborne contaminants at the source, which prevents dust dispersion inside production area. Central vacuum cleaning systems are used to keep production areas clean by regularly removing dust that has not been captured by dust extraction systems. Having a combination of these systems provides safe and clean production.
The customer chose Nederman for both types of systems not just as a supplier of a high quality equipment, but also as a provider of knowledge about right system’s design to meet all requirements.
“The major goals were uninterrupted operation, high efficiency of dust extraction and air filtration, high and constant vacuum in ducts systems for big number of operators working in parallel,” Alexey Sergievich said.
The dust is captured by NEX S extraction arms, which fulfills all requirements for use in environments containing explosive dust and with extremely high hygienic demands. Open support arm system and hood made of acid proofed polished stainless steel and easy removable hose allow regular cleaning which is mandatory for GMP.
Contaminated air with dust is transported rel="noopener noreferrer" inside Nederman QF conductive ducts to ATEX compliant filter unit type FlexFilter EX. Ducts are made of stainless (inside clean rooms) and galvanized steel. Main features of QF ducts are fast and easy installation, re-configuring or relocation without special tools. QF ducts are ideal for dust extraction systems. Filtered dust is collected inside 100 l dust bin with wheels for easy transportation. Clean air then moves to fan with internal ATEX zone 22 and exhaust outdoors.
Duct system has very big distance from extraction points to filter unit and fan. Furthermore, high velocity of dust transportation is needed to prevent settling of dust inside ducts. It creates very high pressure losses, therefore we proposed high pressure fan Combifab F30 kW and filter unit with reinforced structure FlexFilter 18-C-A EX which is able to withstand a vacuum up to -0,4 bar.
Filter unit could not be installed outdoors and explosion venting outdoors was not possible. We found a solution with EX membranes and flameless devices which allows explosion venting indoors without flame and meets occupational safety standards. Furthermore, we prevent explosion propagation inside ducts upstream by installing an explosion isolation valve.
The control system includes everything the customer needs in addition to standard functionality. It has EX sensors to stop extraction system immediately after explosion and inform an operator. Frequency converter and pressure transmitter inside duct make extraction system energy efficient and provides exact airflow which is necessary at the moment for efficient extraction.
The dust and spilled powders are collected by cleaning kits and hand brushes with hoses connected to flap valves. Air is transported inside Nederman high vacuum pipes to ATEX compliant filter unit type FlexFilter EX. Nederman high vacuum pipes are made of the same materials and even easier in installation, reconfiguring or relocation. Therefore, the pipes are ideal for vacuum cleaning systems. Filter unit with reinforced structure FlexFilter 13-C-A EX is able to withstand a vacuum up to -0,4 bar. Filtered dust is collected inside 50 l dust bin with wheels for easy transportation.
Clean air moves to control filter which has two functions: additional filtration stage and protection of vacuum unit in case of main filter damage. Then clean air goes to vacuum unit type VAC20-1500 22 kW.
Filter unit could not be installed outdoors and explosion venting outdoors was not possible. We found a solution with EX membranes and flameless devices which allows explosion venting indoors without flame and meets occupational safety standards. Furthermore, we prevent explosion propagation inside ducts upstream by installing an explosion isolation valve.
The control system includes EX sensors to stop extraction system immediately after explosion and inform an operator.
By choosing Nederman equipment the customer got the most advanced technical solution in the market, meeting all requirements for efficient and safe production.
“We have minimal number of requests from production department to HVAC department, which is one of clear signals that systems work very well. Nederman equipment are fully satisfies our expectations and we recommend to use it to our colleagues in other companies,” Alexey Sergievich said.
Contact our experts if you want to know more about how we can help you design your workshop or factory with safe, efficient and compliant solutions for dust extraction and industrial vacuum cleaning.
We have extensive experience of various challenges in the different industries and our experts are very skilled, helpful and professional. With us, you can feel secure that we take care of you and your needs. You are always welcome to contact us regardless if you have a short question or a more complex and complicated one. A warm welcome to Nederman.
Contact us here
