Dust Containment Dust collection in CONtinuous solid dose pharmaceutical manufacturing processes Because continuous manufacturing processes run 24/7, dust collection systems must keep up with the demand. By David Steil, Cam l Air Pollution Control nlike batch production of solid dose phar-maceuticals, in which a predetermined weight of ingredients is processed before being discharged as finished product, continuous solid dose manufacturing simultane-ously charges and discharges ingredients and nished product. Uninterrupted dust collection is critical in continuous manufacturing operations because pro-duction can run 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Dust collectors extract potentially toxic and combustible dusts from pharmaceutical processes including coating, tableting, blending, drying and packaging. ey use lter cartridges to remove dust particles from the contami-nated process air that may pose a risk to the health of workers. Dust particles in the air can also cause com-bustible dust explosions and fires, damage products and production equipment, and cause cross-contamination. Here are some proven mea-sures that will help your dust collection system meet this challenge around the clock. U up valuable space on a production floor or suite. The solution is to install a fully integrated compact dust collection system. Enable continuous operation via self-cleaning lter system Dust collectors can run continuously when they clean their own lters using reverse pulse cleaning. is type of cleaning system uses compressed air to remove dust on the lter cartridges that is restricting the air ow and raising the dust collector’s di erential pressure (dP). Nozzles direct pulses of compressed air into the inside of the lter cartridges to eject the dust from the surface of the media. The most efficient way to operate a reverse pulse clean-ing system is to use a control-ler that reads the dP across the filters. That way, the cleaning system initiates automatically when the high set dP point is reached and pulse cleans down to the low set point, which returns it to a stable level. The ejected dust is stored in a suitable receptacle where it can be emptied when necessary without having to shut down the dust collector. However, it is possible for the pulse cleaning process to cause pressure disturbances in the dirty air ducting and the process machine to which it is connected. at is why it is important to use proactive strategies to prevent these disturbances such as reducing the compressed air pressure, using segmented lter designs, schedul-ing periodic offline cleaning and adding automatic dampers. All these techniques can be designed into the system to help prevent pressure issues that can negatively a ect the connected processing machine. Choose the right size dust collector “A well-designed and properly maintained dust collection system can remove airborne dust from the processing workspace and provide safeguards against combustible dust explosions.” Continuous solid dose manufacturing usually requires smaller processing equipment and facilities, which tend to be faster and less expensive to design, build and install. e processes can be simpler and more e cient to run and maintain, saving time and money. Compact, fully integrated equipment is required to meet these demands without compromising on prod-uct quality or operational safety. Small process machines and reduced floor space require small ancillary equipment. This includes dust collectors and the cartridge-style filters that dry dust applications typically use because they have a greater surface area and smaller footprint than bag filters. Dust collectors typically need to incorporate a HEPA filter and a fan, which can take Improve energy ef ciency In continuous manufacturing, energy efficiency is a primary consideration for the design of all ancillary equipment, including the dust collectors. Dust collectors 18 Processing | FEBRUARY 2021