Feature sponsored by Flow, level & control
Pressure and level instrumentation for biotechnology
By Florian Burgert, VEGA Controls I 46
t is an exciting time for biotechnology. Many chemical and pharmaceutical processes are currently being transformed into biotechnological processes. Right in the middle of this is the Spanish company TECNIC Bioprocess Equipment Manufacturing, who supports its customers through all phases of the implementation of a bioprocess. When it comes to level and pressure instrumentation, the company relies on measuring instruments from VEGA. The pace being set by the company, which
was only founded ten years ago, is fast. With a production area of 5,000m², TECNIC is known as a specialist in equipment for biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications for laboratories, pilot plants and full-scale production facilities. Its activities encompass the entire manufacturing process, from 3D design to programming and instrumentation of the equipment, right through to plant setup and commissioning. TECNIC also has BSL2 laboratories for cell and microbial cultures that it uses to support its customers. “We support our customers in the planning of equipment used for upstream or downstream processes as well as the scale- up phase. We act as a link between the R&D and production departments, offering scalable solutions to speed up the industrialisation process,” explains Manel Estany, operations manager at TECNIC. While in the first few years the focus was
purely on pharmaceutical applications, in 2018 a new department for biotechnology was added. Since then, the company deals with all the main processes in biotechnology. They produce equipment for both upstream (bioreactors and reactors) and downstream processes (tangential flow filtration). TECNIC has a wide range of equipment for laboratory (eLAB), pilot (ePILOT) and production (ePROD) applications. Bioreactors are devices that reproduce optimal conditions for the growth of cell or microbial cultures by regulating temperature,
pH value and partial pressure of oxygen (pO2) as well as the concentration of dissolved gases,
and optionally also the optical density (TCD),
cell density (VCD) or dissolved CO2. The dissolved oxygen in the culture medium is controlled, for example, by means of a ‘cascade control’ system, which involves variables such as stirring, ventilation or oxygen-enriched aeration. To ensure the sterility of the biological reactor, sterile influx valves and a fully aseptic sampling system were developed and designed to be connected to the SIP (Sterilisation in Place) system.
VISCOUS AND TURBULENT MEDIA CONDITIONS Reliable measured values are crucial for these elaborate, hi-tech processes. Since it started making bioprocessing equipment five years ago, the company has relied almost exclusively on sensors from VEGA for pressure and level measurement. “Due to the sterilisation processes, the temperatures ranges from -10 °C to +140 °C in most applications. We often have to deal with viscous and turbulent media, but also the steam and CIP spray heads put a strain on the sensors,” says Manel Estany,
A WIDE RANGE OF SENSORS A wide variety of VEGA sensors are installed in the processing systems. These deliver their analogue and digital 4 ... 20 mA signals to TECNIC’s own eSCADA software. Based on the AVEVA platform, the software manages the control parameters and ensures that the recipes are adhered to in compliance with GAMP5 and CFR21. “We set up and commission all the sensors ourselves. But if we do need help, we can always rely on VEGA’s technical support,” adds Estany. VEGABAR 28 is practically the standard sensor for pressure measurement. It is used to regulate the sterilisation processes in the bioreactors. The sensor is crucial in ensuring a pressure of 1.3 bar. VEGABAR 28 is a universally applicable pressure sensor with ceramic measuring cell for measuring gases, vapours and liquids at temperatures up to 130 °C. The sensor element is the proven ceramic CERTEC measuring cell, which not only features excellent long-term stability but also high overload resistance. The CERTEC
September 2022 Instrumentation Monthly
explaining the operating conditions inside the bioreactors manufactured at TECNIC.
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