Chemical Engineering April 2013 - 27

FIGURE 4. The incorporation
of single-use pumps in biologichandling
applications is gaining
wider acceptance among biotech
and pharmaceutical manufacturers
because they can help optimize
end-product speed to market. Disposable
pumps feature a replaceable
wetted pump chamber. These
single-use pumps reduce
of single-use pumps in biologichandling
applications is gaining
wider acceptance among biotech
and pharmaceutical manufacturers
because they can help optimize
end-product speed to market. Disposable
pumps feature a replaceable
wetted pump chamber. These
single-use pumps reduce
downtime between two
batches, save time and
money and are quick
and easy to change.
downtime between two
batches, save time and
money and are quick
and easy to change.
Quattrofl ow positive
displacement
pumps are suitable
for single-use systems
because they incorporate
a four-piston-diaphragm
technology with no mechanical
seals that is driven by an
eccentric shaft and motor
for single-use systems
because they incorporate
a four-piston-diaphragm
technology with no mechanical
seals that is driven by an
eccentric shaft and motor
North America (Bohemia, N.Y.; www.
sartorius.com). For a lot of western
countries, this means transferring
technology to sites around the world.
" A flexible facility, or a plug-and-play,
single-use facility that can be dropped
anywhere in the world and still function
as it was designed and operated
by the 'mothership' really is an enabling
technology that is being driven
by our customers, " explains Priebe.
For example, in the vaccine world,
western vaccine producers have very
little footprint in the emerging markets
around the world, but many
want to participate in that space.
" However, building up a stainlesssteel
facility for hundreds of millions
of dollars in a five-year project is no
way to try your luck in that market, "
he says. " But, with a relatively small
capital investment of tens of millions
of dollars and a six-month project
using platform-single processes that
are ready to go anywhere they are
dropped into place, it becomes a more
feasible investment. "
Systems versus components
Faster implementation, more flexible
facilities, avoidance of cross-contamination
risk and elimination of costly
and labor-intensive cleaning and
validation steps are the main drivers
behind the success of single-use
equipment. And, because these are
primarily business or strategic drivers,
biotech companies started requesting
more and more components
Pump
Solutions
Group
and even complete systems from
equipment providers.
" What we're seeing is a strategic
initiative among major biopharmaceutical
manufacturers to establish plugand-play
platform processes using single-use
technology, " says Priebe. " They
want to be more flexible and more
agile and able to expand into emerging
markets, and we can help them do
that. It's not child's play. It's definitely
on the cutting edge of where single-use
technology is going, but customers are
pulling and suppliers are responding
and it's a reality that's not far away. "
Currently, single-use technology is
available for all applications throughout
the process, says Roman Rodriguez,
global group product manager
with EMD Millipore (www.emdmillipore.com),
a division of Merck KgaA
(Darmstadt, Germany). " But the real
effort is to provide full coverage or interconnected
materials so there are no
gaps anymore, providing the ability to
process from raw materials down to
final product using single-use technology, "
he says.
" There are a lot of different products
available to cover all different
applications. We have single-use for
liquid handling, storage, transportation,
taking samples, connectors, mixing
systems, bioreactors and so on, but
everyone is striving to create a flexible
facility using all these components together.
We are not there. There are still
some technical gaps. In the meantime,
we are providing single-use systems
Nitrogen blanketing is widely
used to prevent fires, explosion, or
degradation of products during their
production, storage, and transport.
By implementing best practices in
your blanketing system, you may find
opportunities to reduce costs and
improve safety.
Visit our website below to watch
a video on best practices featuring
industry specialists at Air Products,
Cashco, Inc., and Neutronics Inc. Also
download a technical article with
more detail.
tell me more
airproducts.com/N2blanketing
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best practices
for nitrogen
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Visit us at
INTERPHEX™ 2013,
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Circle 4 on p. 68 or go to adlinks.che.com/45771-04
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2013 27
http://www.sartorius.com http://www.airproducts.com/N2blanketing http://www.emdmilli http://www.pore.com http://adlinks.che.com/45771-04 http://WWW.CHE.COM
Chemical Engineering April 2013

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