Effective short-term solution for eliminating chlorinated solvents

In the production of pharmaceuticals, companies have no choice but to deal with chlorinated solvents. Such components are highly volatile and can therefore rapidly disperse into the air. To completely control this air emission problem, a growing Spanish pharmaceutical company was looking for an appropriate short- and long-term solution.

Stemming from their dissatisfaction with the high exchange frequency of their existing air purification operational system and because the service left a lot to be desired, the pharmaceutical company began searching for a different partner that could meet their expectations. DESOTEC was already known to the company, so they decided to use our services for this project as well.

These filters were installed as an interim solution while awaiting the implementation of a permanent system at the client’s site, which is currently in the planning phase. Due to the success of this solution, even after the commissioning of the permanent solution, the client will also trust us to provide an efficient back-up for the new system through temporary filters of the same type.

The biggest challenge in relation to this project was the high speed with which the filters needed to be replaced due to the contamination level at the company. Each week, DESOTEC replaces 6 of the 16 filters as soon as they reach their saturation point. Thanks to this approach and the high service level, the pharmaceutical producer no longer needs to worry about this challenge.

At DESOTEC’s facilities, all used carbon is analysed so the right measures can be taken for handling and removing the saturated carbon out of the mobile filters. All molecules that were adsorbed on the activated carbon at the customers’ site, are desorbed inside DESOTEC’s reactivation furnaces. These contaminants are then fully destroyed, in accordance with National and European legislation, by an incineration and neutralisation setup. The entire installation and it's emissions are under continuous on-line monitoring, which guarantees that only harmless water vapour is seen exiting the chimney.