Air scrubber in the pharmaceutical industry

In the pharmaceutical industry, various processes often release solvents, which can be harmful to people and the environment. In addition to solvents, other unpleasant odours can also be released during the manufacture of pharmaceutical products. Air Solutions Holland neutralizes this type of odour pollution using a chemical scrubber. An air scrubber also known as a washer is a cleaning installation in which the air flow is brought into intensive contact with a washing liquid. The purpose of this type of installation is to let the odour components (often gaseous particles that cannot be separated with a filter) create a chemical reaction, and consequently transfer them from the airstream to the washing liquid. Air Solutions scrubbers are therefore often used as an emission limiting technique for a lot of gaseous emissions.

The extent to which gaseous components can be transferred to the liquid phase depends on the solubility of these components in the washing liquid, in which case temperature often also plays an important role. By adding chemicals to the washing liquid, the harmful components are often converted into other substances, which eventually dissolve more easily in the liquid. Adding chemicals that can react with the gases to be absorbed therefore considerably increases the efficiency of the washer. In addition to water (wet scrubbers), organic liquids are also used as absorbers to convert or neutralise the gases dissolved in the liquid.

In practice, an air scrubber consists of three parts: a contact surface for dust exchange, a droplet eliminator and a recirculation tank with pump. In most cases the gaseous impurities react to form a salt, which easily dissolves in water. Because of this salt formation, all Air Solutions air scrubbers are made of industrial plastics (HDPE, PP and PVDF). The residual product of an air scrubber is therefore often a salt solution, which is discharged or evaporated for reuse.

Air Solutions Holland has experience with the following different air scrubbers in the pharmaceutical industry:

Quality marks:

• ISO 9002
• CE
• KIWA
• VLAREM
• FDA (U.S. risk assessment in food and pharmaceutical industry)
• GMP (Quality assurance system in food and pharmaceutical industry)
• DVS welding certification