Pharmaceutical Company Improves Process and Discovers Extra Savings with UV Unit for Sterilization

When a pharmaceutical producer required an alternate way to sterilize water for their processes, they found the solution and additional savings in an Aquionics UV unit.

One of our pharmaceutical customers was experiencing issues with sterilization in a water system used for sterilizing their product bottle carts. The current solution, injecting hypochlorite in the line, presented a new set of problems—it was affecting the stainless steel plates, silo and tubing. Our solution was to use a UV unit for sterilization. Not only will this sterilize without chlorides, but it provides extra savings to help justify the investment.

The current process includes multiple pressure vessels where they put their carts with glass bottles in them, flood it, heat it, hold it and then cool down the water so they can put it down the drain. There is a plate heat exchanger and a storage silo. The heat exchanger has an ambient supply of city water that flows through one side of the plates and the hot water from the vessel is on the other.  The hot water preheats the city water as it goes to the storage vessel until the hot water gets below a certain temperature.  The heated water in the storage tank is used to pre-charge (fill) the next vessel. 

The plant has experienced some counts in the system in the past, and they injected sodium hypochlorite into the line to overcome them. The problem is that the chlorides (especially with heat) have presented a problem with the SS plates in the heat exchanger, the interior surface of the silo, and some issues with the stainless steel process piping.

The solution was an Aquionics UV system. It has the ability to do a better job sterilizing without chlorides. In addition, the producer will realize further savings throughout the process that help cover the cost of the UV unit:

•  They are looking at an exotic material for the inner surface of the silo, which is very expensive. UV eliminates this need and expense.
•  316L stainless steel pipe paired with UV would save $$ in the long run.
•  They have already replaced plates with costly Titanium, but any future plates would be stainless steel with the elimination of chlorides.

Get more information about the opportunities for savings in your process when you put an Aquionics UV unit to work for you.