Manufacturing and packaging within the Pharmaceutical industry can generate a variety of types of nuisance dust.
Depending on the type, there may be concerns with cross-contamination with other products, GMP issues or occupational exposure limits to active pharmaceutical ingredients for plant workers.Donaldson have a wide range of dust collectors well suited to the Pharmaceutical industry ranging from small cartridge DFO units for collection at the point of dust generation right through to large, specialised containment dust collectors custom engineered to meet specific requirements for the most difficult dust problems.
COLLECTOR DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
- Donaldson understand that the design and construction of dust collectors in the Pharmaceutical industry may need to address a range of unique issues such as: configuration decisions to minimise dust build-up within the collector, seam sealing of collectors and associated ductwork, duct design and sealing technology, waste disposal and potentially secondary monitoring using HEPA filtration.
- In some cases, devices with special seals are needed to reduce or eliminate potential discharge when transferring material to disposal containers.
- Some applications may require sealed filter change procedures to reduce exposure when the collected dust may have adverse effects on the health of workers.
PHARMACEUTICAL PROCESSES THAT MAY GENERATE DUST
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Crushing |
Milling | Screening | Micromisation |
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Mixing |
Pelletizing | Dispensing | Sampling |
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Granulating |
Drying | Coating | Batching |
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Blending |
Compressing | Weighing | Packaging |
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Many pharmaceutical dusts are combustible and those operations generating or handling pharmaceutical dusts can require special mitigation efforts to minimise fire and explosion risks. Standards such as NFPA 654 can provide guidance for those who generate and handle these types of dusts. See the Donaldson Dust Collectors and Combustible Dust Strategies brochure.
Pharmaceutical dusts may also have identified adverse health impacts, and special mitigation strategies may be required to limit occupational exposure below levels OSHA or other health organisations have established for these materials.
EQUIPMENT OPTIONS
- Stainless steel contact surfaces
- Wash down/clean out designs
- FDA approved paint