Energy Efficient Freeze Drying Enhances Pharmaceutical Production

SP Scientific has produced a new technical brief that summarises the energy saving features available on its Hull range of production freeze drying systems.

Out of the many steps required to produce pharmaceuticals products, freeze drying is perhaps the most energy intensive of the various production processes. Most of the energy consumed by a freeze dryer goes into the refrigeration system which must initially freeze the product and heat transfer shelves, and then condense water vapour that sublimates and desorbs out of the product during primary and secondary drying respectively.

For the last 20 years, Hull production freeze dryers have been at the forefront of pioneering ever more efficient use of the energy required to drive the lyophilisation process. This new technical brief details these energy saving technical innovations and explains how they translate into energy/cost savings in pharmaceutical production. 

Smart Cool 4.0 technology utilizes the inherent flexibility of electronic expansion valves to capture greater compressor capacity under heavy loads (such as fast cooling of product);  at the same time, it allows precise shelf control within +/- 1 °C. The result is that a typical Hull freeze dryer can meet or exceed the performance of other production freeze dryers using fewer and/or smaller compressors, especially when combined with MultiFlex refrigeration.

Employing highly efficient heat transfer fluid cooled condensers, SP Scientific's proprietary MultiFlex refrigeration design enables Hull freeze dryers to meet process needs with fewer and/or smaller compressors, which results not only in significant energy savings, but overall reduced operational costs due to decreased maintenance requirements.

In addition, the document describes and explains the benefits of Screw Compressor technology, Variable Frequency Drives, Water Cooled Heat Exchangers and high efficiency liquid Nitrogen refrigeration systems.

To download a copy of this new technical brief, visit www.spscientific.com or for further information on energy efficient production scale freeze drying please contact SP Scientific’s Charles D. Dern, P.E. on +1 845 255 5000  or [email protected]