MechChem Africa December 2018

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Contaminant and oil-free air for good medicine

In the process of manufacturing pharma- ceuticals, every input into the final prod- ucts has to be scrupulously hygienic and sterile, fromstart to endofmanufacturing processes. A leader in rented portable air and power solutions, Rand-Air is proud tohave been able to contribute to South Africa’s pharmaceutical manufacturing industry this year. The company supplied an Atlas CopcoZT315VSDoil-free air compressor toSouthAfricanpharmaceuticalmanufac- turer, Adcock Ingram. Rand-Air marketing manager Byrone Thorne explains how this came about: “Towards the end of last year, we estab- lished that there was a requirement for a standby compressor at Adcock Ingram’s Steriles and Critical Care Manufacturing facility in Aeroton. “In spite of competitor competition, we pressed home the advantage of our reliability, safety, quality, and superior customer service, and won the order,” Thorne says. Ever aware of handling complexities during cyclone maintenance, Multotec Process Equipment has developed an innovative jib crane installation that can be mounted on top of the cyclone cluster distributor. This then facilitates removal and installation of the individual cyclones or any other component. It is typical for cyclone installations to be at the highest level of a process plant, and there is often no crane available. In addition, where plants are inmore remote locations, access to cranes or materials handling equipment is limited. It is anticipated that having adedicated

The pharmaceuticals facility cur- rently has two of its own centrifugal compressors, which supply high-purity oil-free compressed air into an extensive stainless steel piping network. “The Atlas Copco ZT315VSD with its 1 557 cubic feet a minute, 8.6 bar supply is eminently suitable for this application as it supplies completely contaminant- and oil-free air,” Thorne adds. “The ZT315VSD is a standby unit. In the event of an operational issuewith one of the in-house centrifugal compressors, theAtlasCopcoZT315VSDtakes over the supply of compressed air with minimum disruption to the facility’s manufacturing capability. The unit is well suited for the rigorous 24/7duty cycle requiredby the customer; and its output is critical in ensuring unin- terrupted production. The rental supply contract is for a period of three years. “We were pleased with the way the installation went and are happy to have the extra standby capacity,” says Adcock crane availablewill not only reduce down- time and costs associated with mainte- nance but will also enhance safety during these activities. In addition to making it easier to handle the cyclones and compo- nentry, the maintenance crewwill be able to attach their safety harnesses to the crane’scrossbeamwhenworkingatheight. Multotec offers a complete range of standard and customised cyclones, constructed from various high quality materials. The cyclones are engineered toprovidemaximumseparationefficiency with lower operating costs. www.multotec.com

Digital tachometer for versatility and pinpoint accuracy The Atlas Copco ZT315VSD from Rand Air takes over the supply of compressed air at Adcock Ingram should either one of the in- house compressors fail. Ingram Process Improvement Project Engineer Johan Bredenkamp. “This is very much in line with Rand- Air’s rental ethos, where the customer is given the freedom to concentrate on its core business while leaving the re- sponsibility for the provision of essential, contaminant and oil-free compressed air to us,” Thorne concludes. www.randair.co.za

Jib crane for safe cyclone maintenance

The SKF TKRT 10 is a fast and accurate tachometer that can measure rotational and linear speeds. Equippedwith a laser anda rangeof contact adapters, it is a versatile instrument designed to suit many different applications. The TKRT 10 has a wide speed measurement range – up to 99 999 rpm for laser mea- surement and 20 000 rpm using contact adapters.Measurement modes include rotational speed, total revolutions, frequency, sur- face speed and length in metric and imperial units. The laser can be used for safe and quick, non-contact rotational speed measurements at distances up

to500mm. The largeback-lit LCDdisplay enables easy reading in almost all light conditions. The angular range of ±45° to target helps facilitate easy measuring and up to 10 readings can be stored for later reference. The one-handoperated instrument comes in a compact design and is supplied in a carrying case for protection and portability. www.skf.com

Multotec’s innovative jib crane can be mounted and retrofitted to the top of any cyclone cluster.

December 2018 • MechChem Africa ¦ 29