A clean balance
Production processes within the pharmaceutical
industry must be of the highest level when
it comes to cleanliness; however, ensuring such
high standards can take a large chunk
out of the production budget. Bürkert’s
optimised automation of hygienic processes with
integrated valve systems provides a hygienic process
with low production costs.
Excellent hygiene is paramount in pharmaceutical
and
biotech production, particularly in the process
and plant
area. This is enforced all over the world by stringent
HACCP and GMP regulations aimed at protecting
consumers.
|
|
|
| |
Decentralised automation
with integrated valve systems.
|
Compounding this issue, companies operating in
the competitive global market are forced to make
their production processes as economical as possible,
resulting in increased demand for automation solutions
at the process level.
In the field of process valves, conventional
automation solutions
including control cabinets with valve terminals,
I/O systems and
field bus interfaces normally require costly hose
connections and
wiring. With this technology, the valves at field
level are connected
to the central control unit through a large number
of long control
air lines and discrete feedback connections.
As well as the high costs for the time-consuming
planning
and installation of such solutions, they are issues
when it
comes to hygiene. One alternative is the use of
intelligent
process valves from fluid technology specialist
Bürkert. In
contrast to control cabinet-based automation concepts,
the only
tasks left to the central process control system
in Bürkert’s
decentralised solutions are control and status
monitoring. At the
field level, pneumatically operated process valves
are used.
These can be equipped with all the required automation
components such as pilot valves with manual actuation,
electrical feedback units and optical status indicators,
field bus
interfaces and even positioners and process controllers.
One line for up to 62 valves
By integrating an actuator sensor interface as
a field bus
interface, processors can take full advantage
of the features
decentralised automation has to offer. All that
is required for
power supply, feedback and communication is a
two-wire line
connecting the power line carrier (CLIENT query)
with up to
62 valves. Each process valve is individually
connected to the
main compressed air supply line installed in the
field, so these
connections are kept as short as possible, which
reduces the
number and length of hose and wire connections
and control
cabinets to a minimum.
The valve systems are designed according to European
Hygienic Engineering and Design Group guidelines
for
hygienic design and easy cleaning. They feature
high IP
protection as required for application and are
made
exclusively of detergent-proof materials, which
means that the
IP protection is not affected by long-term use
in atmospheres
with high air humidity or by frequent cleaning
with aggressive
chemicals. Compared with conventional automation
solutions,
these characteristics mark real progress in improved
hygiene.
Modular valve programme for customised solutions
At entry level, decentralised automation based
on intelligent valve
systems starts with a process valve featuring
integrated electrical
feedback, simple optical feedback and an integrated
pilot valve.
“The process valves require minimal space
and can therefore
be easily installed in the pipeline system of
the plant,” explains
Sebastian Kundel, product manager process valves
at Bürkert.
“Because they are made in extremely resistant
materials, they
are easy to clean and provide maximum availability,
thanks to
their excellent functional safety.”
Excellent availability is achieved mainly through
the
integration of the control air supply to the actuator
chambers,
which ensures that the spring chamber of the pneumatic
actuator is supplied only with pure and clean
control air.
Moisture, dust and contaminants in the ambient
air cannot
enter the actuator units and there is no risk
of the fungal
spores produced in the spring chamber being ejected
into the
ambient air at each switching process, which is
a common
problem with conventional actuator design.
Through a combination of control air inlet and
release, a constant overpressure is maintained
inside the housing, while a certain volume of
air is regularly replaced. This ensures that no
condensate can build up inside the housing. The
modular structure of systems based on intelligent
process valves ensures that they can be adapted
according to the actual situation and application,
whereby such optimised solutions are always based
on high-quality tried and tested components with
a long service life
|
