DK2447654T3 - Process for monitoring a freeze-drying process and freeze-drying plant for this - Google Patents
Process for monitoring a freeze-drying process and freeze-drying plant for this Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- DK2447654T3 DK2447654T3 DK11008727.7T DK11008727T DK2447654T3 DK 2447654 T3 DK2447654 T3 DK 2447654T3 DK 11008727 T DK11008727 T DK 11008727T DK 2447654 T3 DK2447654 T3 DK 2447654T3
- Authority
- DK
- Denmark
- Prior art keywords
- freeze
- line
- chamber
- medium
- drying system
- Prior art date
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Classifications
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F26—DRYING
- F26B—DRYING SOLID MATERIALS OR OBJECTS BY REMOVING LIQUID THEREFROM
- F26B5/00—Drying solid materials or objects by processes not involving the application of heat
- F26B5/04—Drying solid materials or objects by processes not involving the application of heat by evaporation or sublimation of moisture under reduced pressure, e.g. in a vacuum
- F26B5/06—Drying solid materials or objects by processes not involving the application of heat by evaporation or sublimation of moisture under reduced pressure, e.g. in a vacuum the process involving freezing
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Molecular Biology (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Drying Of Solid Materials (AREA)
- Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
Description
Description
The present invention relates to a method according to the preamble of claim 1 and a freeze-drying system according to the preamble of claim 4.
When freeze-drying a product, for example a pharmaceutical product or food, it is important to know how much humidity is currently still present in the product, in order to be able to determine the end of the freeze-drying process. Taking a measurement directly on the product has the disadvantage that the freeze-drying process needs to be interrupted. This is very uneconomical, on the one hand, because the freezedrying process must be, subsequently, started up again and, on the other hand, because the measured sample can no longer be exploited economically. Maintaining the sterility of the product when taking the sample is also complicated and is not always guaranteed. A mere calculation of the duration of the freeze-drying process is highly inaccurate, because the actual parameters often deviate from the assumed parameters.
In order to solve these problems, the document WO 2007/115965 A1 describes a measurement method, in which a spectrometer placed outside the freeze-drying system measures the current water vapor content of the freeze-drying medium within the freeze-drying system through a window. The measurement is carried out at the transition from the product chamber to the condenser in the area of the opening of the main valve. A freeze-drying system and a freeze-drying process according to the preambles of claims 1 and 4 is known from WO 2006/100421 A1, wherein the presence of water is measured by means of a laser inside the connecting pipe between the product chamber and the condenser. This method also is a contactless measurement method.
This contactless measurement method is advantageous in that the sterility of all of the products is maintained, that no single product is consumed and that the freezedrying process can be continued without interruption.
On the other hand, the spectrometer takes a measurement in almost only one spot in the chamber and can therefore only determine a limited value. Therefore, it is not possible to take a precise measurement. In addition, small variations of the water vapor content cannot be determined in real time. DE60120346T discloses a method for monitoring a freeze-drying process and a device for carrying out said method. The device comprises a chamber, in which several storage spaces are provided for receiving the products to be dried, as well as a condenser, a vacuum pump and a sample line connected to it for sampling a part of the medium located inside the chamber. Two sensors, which measure the medium in the sample line, are used for monitoring the drying process.
Based on this, the problem underlying the invention is to develop a method and a freeze-drying system of the type mentioned in the introduction, with which a more precise and faster measurement of the medium can be achieved, without having to interrupt the freeze-drying process and without jeopardizing the sterility of the products.
The term “medium” refers to the solvent-dependent gaseous mixture located inside the freeze-drying system and generated during the freeze-drying process.
In this regard, the invention is based on the finding that the spectrometer can take a highly precise measurement of the water vapor content of the medium even in a very small space and even when the medium moves very quickly.
As a technical solution of the problem, the invention proposes a method with the features of claim 1 and a freeze-drying system with the features of claim 4. Advantageous developments of this method and this freeze-drying system may be gathered from the dependent claims. A method carried out in accordance with this technical teaching and a freeze-drying system implemented in accordance with this technical teaching have the advantage that, by sampling a part of the medium, the measurement can be carried out outside the actual freeze-drying system, so that the freeze-drying process can be continued without interruption and that the sterility inside the freeze-drying system is maintained. In this respect, it is sufficient to sample only a very small sample of the medium for carrying out the measurement.
Measuring the sample inside the sample line has the advantage that only a minimal instrumental set-up is needed and that the path of the sample from the product to the sample line is relatively short, so that the sample can be measured in real time.
Another particular advantage is that the relatively small sample line contains a correspondingly small sample. As a result, the measurement of the vapor content is limited to a small amount of the medium, so that, in contrast to the prior art, in which an average is determined across an extended surface, a very precise measurement can be taken.
Another advantage is that the sampling of the medium is carried out at a number of sampling points and that the sampling points are placed inside the housing wall of the freeze-drying system in such a manner that they are aligned with the storage spaces or with the products to be dried. This allows sampling a separate sample from the respective storage space, respectively from the respective tier of products, which are then measured in the sample line. Thus, it is possible to draw conclusions regarding the freeze-drying process in the respective storage area, or in the respective tier of products.
In this respect, it has proven to be advantageous to continuously sample the medium, i.e. to continuously take samples. This has the advantage of ensuring a stable flow inside the chamber and that the content of the sample line always gives an accurate picture of the freeze-drying process in the freeze-drying system.
In practice, it has proven to be sufficient to take constant measurements, but in certain intervals, so that an almost continuous measurement of the medium is carried out.
The measurements of the medium can be a concentration measurement or a velocity measurement, for example. Other measurement methods are conceivable. Some of these measurement methods are described in WO 2007/115965 A1.
The method described herein can be particularly advantageously carried out in the freeze-drying system according to the invention. This freeze-drying system has the advantage that a vacuum pump is connected to the sample line leaving the chamber, so that an corresponding medium can be aspirated out of the interior of the freezedrying system by way of this vacuum pump. This sampling of the medium from the chamber can be carried out in a reliable manner and the amount of sampled medium can be adjusted by way of the vacuum pump.
Attaching a sample line shut-off valve to the sample line has the advantage that the sample line can also be shut-off, so that the sampling of the medium can be adjusted. This is particularly useful for establishing specific flows inside the freezedrying system.
According to the invention, a number of sampling lines are provided at the chamber, through which the medium can be sampled from the interior of the chamber. These sampling lines flow into the sample line, in which the medium can be measured. This has the advantage that a respective sample can be taken in different places of the chamber. This leads to a more precise determination of the state of the freeze-drying process, because it is possible to determine the conditions in different parts of the chamber.
According to the invention, the sampling lines are attached to the chamber so that they are respectively aligned with a storage space or, in another embodiment, aligned with a product tier. This makes it possible to extract a sample from the respective storage space or respective product tier in a targeted manner. In the event that the freeze-drying process is to be carried out in the area of a specific storage space, or in the area of a specific product tier, it has proven to be advantageous to provide a sampling line shut-off valve for every sampling line, so that the individual sampling lines can be opened, while shutting off the other lines.
In another preferred embodiment, at least one condenser line is provided between the condenser and the vacuum pump. This has the advantage that a part of the medium can also be sampled from the condenser and measured in the sample line. This allows drawing additional conclusions regarding the freeze-drying process.
In yet another preferred embodiment, respective condenser shut-off valves are provided at the condenser lines, so that the condenser lines can be used individually.
Other advantages of the method according to the invention and of the freeze-drying system according to the invention can be gathered from the enclosed drawings and the embodiments described in the following. In the drawings:
Fig. 1 shows a schematic drawing of a first embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a schematic drawing of a second embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention;
Fig. 3 shows a schematic drawing of a third embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention;
Fig. 4 shows a schematic drawing of a fourth embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention;
Fig. 5 shows a schematic drawing of a fifth embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention.
Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention, comprising a chamber 10 with a sample line 14 leading out of it. At the end of the sample line a vacuum pump 15 is provided, by means of which a part of the medium can be aspirated out of the chamber 10 into the sample line. A condenser 16, which also has a condenser line 17 leading out of it, is provided under the chamber 10. This condenser line 17 flows into the sample line 14 and is also separately connected to the vacuum pump 15. A condenser line shut-off valve 11 is provided in the condenser line 17 and a sample line shut-off valve 12 is provided in the sample line 14. The respective lines can be individually opened or shut-off using these valves 11, 12.
During the freeze-drying process, the medium located inside the sample line 14 is measured. To this end, methods known from the prior art, such as for example from WO 2007/115965 A1, are used. For example, laser spectroscopy is used, also taking advantage, as necessary, of the doppler effect. It is also possible to determine the mass flow using the pressure difference between the chamber 10 and the condenser 16.
Based on the first unclaimed example schematically represented in Fig. 1, a method is described in detail in the following:
In order to freeze-dry a product located in the chamber 10, the freeze-drying process is initiated. At that moment, the sample line shut-off valve 12 is already open and the vacuum pump 15 is in operation. Thereby a part of the medium located in the chamber 10 is aspirated by the vacuum pump 15 in a continuous process into the sample line 14. Inside the sample line 14, the medium located therein is now measured, for example by a laser spectrometer, in order to determine the relative humidity of the medium. This measurement is repeated at appropriate intervals, so that a quasi-continuous measurement takes place. As soon as the relative humidity of the medium falls below a predefined limit value, or as soon as a characteristic change in concentration occurs, a signal is emitted and the following freeze-drying phase can be started up or the freeze-drying process can be ended.
In the second embodiment schematically represented in Fig. 2, four different sampling lines 28a to d, each flowing into the sample line 24, are provided at a wall of the chamber 20. In each of these sampling lines 28a to d, respectively one sampling line shut-off valve 23a to d is provided. Here too, a vacuum pump 25 is connected to the sample line 24, and a condenser line 27 with a condenser line shutoff valve 21 also connects the condenser 26 with the sample line 24. The actual sample valve can be omitted because the same function is carried out by the sampling line shut-off valves 23a to 23d.
The sampling line 28a is attached in an area of the chamber 20, in which the product of the top storage space is located. The products of the top storage space form a so-called tier of products 29, wherein the sampling line 28a is attached to the chamber 20 at the level of the tier of products 29. The same applies to the sampling lines 28b, c and d. It goes without saying that other numbers of sampling lines can be used in other embodiments. In this regard, the number of sampling lines may but does not have to be aligned with the number of storage spaces.
By using several sampling lines 28a to d, the medium can now be sampled in different areas of the chamber 20. This is particularly advantageous in that the individual sampling lines can be individually closed by the sampling line shut-off valve 23d, so that the medium can be individually measured. As a result, it is possible to draw very precise conclusions regarding the freeze-drying process inside the chamber 20.
The third embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention shown in fig. 3 comprises a single sampling line 38 with a single sampling line shut-off valve 33, a sample line 34 and a sample line shut-off valve 32, as well as a first condenser line 37a with a first condenser line shut-off valve 31 a with a second condenser line 37b with a second condenser line shut-off valve 31 b. The condenser lines 37a and 37b are disposed in such a manner that the sample line shut-off valve 32 is located between them. Like in the other embodiments, the sample line 34 flows into the vacuum pump 35.
In this embodiment it is possible, for example by closing the valves 31 a and 31 b, to only aspirate and measure a corresponding medium into the sample line 34, provided the sampling line shut-off valve 33 and the sample line shut-off valve 32 are open. Alternately, it is also possible to close the sampling line shut-off valve 33 and to open the condenser line shut-off valve 31a and 31b, as well as the sample line shut-off valve 32, so that the medium is aspirated out of the condenser 36 into the sample line 34, in order to be measured there. In order to measure the medium from the condenser 36, it is actually sufficient, if only one of the condenser line shut-off valves 31a or 31b is open.
The fourth embodiment of a freeze-drying system according to the invention schematically shown in Fig. 4 comprises, like the third embodiment, two condenser lines 47a and 47b with the corresponding condenser line shut-off valves 41a and b, as well as four sampling lines 48a to d with corresponding sampling line shut-off valves 43a to d, as described with regard to the second embodiment. In addition, a sample line shut-off valve 42 is provided in the sample line 44 between the first condenser line shut-off valve 41 a and the second condenser line shut-off valve 41 b.
It goes without saying that all the valves can be closed or shut-off individually, so that a plurality of combinations for selectively sampling the medium in the chamber 14 or in the condenser 46 or in both is possible.
The fifth embodiment shown in Fig. 5 differs from the fourth embodiment shown in Fig. 4 only in that an additional condenser line 57c with a corresponding condenser line shut-off valve 51c is provided, in order to provide additional combinations.
Claims (8)
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
DE102010050281A DE102010050281A1 (en) | 2010-11-02 | 2010-11-02 | A method of monitoring a freeze drying process and freeze drying plant therefor |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
DK2447654T3 true DK2447654T3 (en) | 2018-12-03 |
Family
ID=45062763
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
DK11008727.7T DK2447654T3 (en) | 2010-11-02 | 2011-11-02 | Process for monitoring a freeze-drying process and freeze-drying plant for this |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP2447654B1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE102010050281A1 (en) |
DK (1) | DK2447654T3 (en) |
Family Cites Families (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
SE0001453D0 (en) * | 2000-04-19 | 2000-04-19 | Astrazeneca Ab | Method of monitoring a freeze drying process |
EP1236962B1 (en) * | 2001-03-01 | 2006-06-07 | Incorporated Administrative Agency National Agriculture and Bio-oriented Research Organization | Process and apparatus for producing a freeze-dried product |
DE102004007526A1 (en) * | 2004-02-17 | 2005-09-01 | Oetjen, Georg-Wilhelm, Dr. | Method and device for the freeze-drying of products |
FR2880105B1 (en) * | 2004-12-23 | 2007-04-20 | Cie Financiere Alcatel Sa | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE DEHYDRATION OPERATION DURING A LYOPHILIZATION TREATMENT |
GB0505849D0 (en) * | 2005-03-22 | 2005-04-27 | Boc Group Plc | Method of monitoring a freeze drying process |
DE102005054923B3 (en) * | 2005-11-17 | 2007-04-12 | Siemens Ag | Device for preparing a sample used in biotechnology stores the working reagents in dry form embedded in a biologically degradable medium which is water-tight in the non-degraded state |
EP2008047B1 (en) | 2006-04-10 | 2012-11-14 | F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG | Apparatus for monitoring freeze-drying process |
CN201081528Y (en) * | 2007-06-27 | 2008-07-02 | 温州市金榜轻工机械有限公司 | Continuous freeze drier |
DE102009001261A1 (en) * | 2008-10-06 | 2010-04-15 | Aj Ebiochip Gmbh | Apparatus and method for performing multiple parallel PCR reactions in the flow-through process |
DE102009008970A1 (en) * | 2008-12-04 | 2010-06-10 | Walter Wiedenmannott | Freeze dryer and method for operating a freeze dryer |
US9194626B2 (en) * | 2009-12-22 | 2015-11-24 | Ima Life North America Inc. | Monitoring freeze drying with gas measurement on vacuum pump exhaust |
-
2010
- 2010-11-02 DE DE102010050281A patent/DE102010050281A1/en not_active Withdrawn
-
2011
- 2011-11-02 DK DK11008727.7T patent/DK2447654T3/en active
- 2011-11-02 EP EP11008727.7A patent/EP2447654B1/en active Active
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP2447654B1 (en) | 2018-09-19 |
DE102010050281A1 (en) | 2012-05-03 |
EP2447654A3 (en) | 2015-12-23 |
EP2447654A2 (en) | 2012-05-02 |
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