RU2796103C1 - Pipeline manifold - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: pharmaceutical industry.

SUBSTANCE: pipeline manifolds of automatic operation, which continuously supply several streams of liquid of the same amount into one tank or distribute one stream into several into other tanks. The invention can be used at multipurpose chemical plants producing active pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates and other products of fine organic synthesis. The manifold includes manifolds with one or two inlet/outlet. The manifolds are configured to be connected to each other and to an inlet/outlet configured to be connected to a medium flow supply source or its receiver. The manifolds are equipped with a locking and adjusting gear in the form of a diaphragm. The diaphragm includes a housing, an external control unit and a diaphragm valve. The diaphragm is located with the possibility of blocking and passing the flow of the medium coming from the source of its supply or to the receiver.

EFFECT: easier adaptation of the manifold device to the required number of inlets/outlets.

5 cl, 4 dwg

Description

The invention relates to pipeline collectors of automatic operation, which continuously supply several streams of liquid of the same amount into one container or distribute one stream into several other containers. The proposed invention, among other things, can be used at multi-range chemical plants producing active pharmaceutical ingredients, intermediates and other products of fine organic synthesis.

Currently, the most common way to connect chemical tanks using pipelines is the conventional piping system with shut-off valves with the connection of all equipment. This type of equipment connection in production is quite laborious and contains the risk of human error, which in some industries can be critical (EP patent No. 0654438 A1, IPC B67D 7/78, 1995).

For the batch production of intermediates (fine chemicals) or finished pharmaceutical substances (hereinafter referred to as API) at production sites, it is common practice to manufacture reactors, filters, tanks, crystallizer columns, as well as fixed pipes for them for each manufactured product separately. In such a batch production system, the transfer of liquid media such as raw materials, semi-finished products, products is carried out mainly with the help of selectively operated valves on stationary pipes. However, the increase in the number of pieces of equipment (which hereinafter may be collectively referred to as "process units"), such as reaction vessels, leads to the need for an increase in the number of valves, which inevitably leads to a more complex control system for the entire production.

In the event of a change in manufactured products in production, a task also arises that is associated not only with the need to modify the existing production scheme, including the installation of additional pipelines, but also with the redesign of the control system, taking into account the prevention of mixing of liquids.

This scheme has the following disadvantages and problems:

(1) High risk of incorrect connections due to manual work.

(2) Relatively high time costs for the reorganization of the production scheme.

(3) The need for complete development of control systems for process optimization, accompanied by the addition, removal or replacement of process units.

(4) The use of valves to control the supply of liquid media may lead to contamination of the final product due to the unreliability of the valves. The likelihood of contamination increases proportionally with the increase in the number of pipes and valves.

(5) High cost of classical piping connection of pieces of equipment. For example, in the case where 100 different chemical media are used by switching 30 piping systems depending on the types of products produced, it is necessary to provide 3000 automatic and solenoid valves to operate such a system.

(6) Since the pipes between the supplying and receiving equipment are extended for a considerable length, the volume filling the pipes will be large (so-called "dead volume"). This means that the replacement of fluid in the equipment or the replacement of the piping connection of the equipment is inevitably accompanied by large losses of fluid volume.

A device for supplying liquid products from a plurality of sources to a plurality of destinations is known. The principle of operation of the device is based on mechanics - the movement of a shaft connected by a bearing to a flange, which is a switchgear. Due to rotation around its own axis and simultaneous movement along the axis (forward and backward), the shaft is able to detach and join other flanges, thereby directing the flow through other pipelines (WO No. 1998012140 A1, IPC B65D 7/74, 2010).

The main disadvantage of the described device is the rapid wear of components such as bearings, crown gears, gaskets, various disks and other components. As an alternative, the authors propose a pneumatic or hydraulic system with a piston, a mechanical system using a working motor of various types: electric, pneumatic or mechanical.

Closest to the proposed invention in technical essence is a device for automatic switching pipelines (US patent No. 5505496, IPC B67D 5/60, 1996), which contains:

a plurality of pipes for receiving liquid connected respectively to a plurality of source containers;

a plurality of liquid supply pipes connected, respectively, with a plurality of receiving containers;

many fasteners and holders, connecting joints, rigid pipes and hoses.

The main disadvantage of the described device is the need to assemble a production line for one fixed product. When optimizing the technological process, during which the number of technological installations changes, the device will lose its efficiency, or will not be able to function at all as required.

The technical result of the invention is an easier adaptation of the collector device to the required number of inputs and outputs.

The technical result is achieved by the fact that the collector includes tanks (manifolds) with one or two inlet / outlet, made with the possibility of connecting the tanks (manifolds) to each other, and the inlet / outlet, made with the possibility of connecting to a source of medium (liquid) flow supply or its receiver, which are equipped with a locking and regulating mechanism in the form of a membrane, including a housing, an external control unit and a locking mechanism of the membrane (membrane valve), and located with the possibility of blocking and passing the flow of the medium coming from the source of its supply or to the receiver.

In FIG. 1 shows a general view of the manifold, where 1 is the manifold body, 2 is the outlet/inlet for connecting manifold tanks, 3 is the outlet/inlet for connecting to a medium supply source or its receiver, 4 is a manifold connection unit, 5 is a shut-off and control mechanism (diaphragm), consisting of a body, an external control unit and a membrane locking mechanism (diaphragm valve).

Manifolds 1 can be interconnected using nut 4.1 and fitting 4.2, which in turn are connected to each other, for example, by tightening them along a threaded connection, and fixed to the inlet/outlet of the corresponding manifold made in the form of a branch pipe, using overhead half rings 4.3 through gasket 4.4 (Fig. 2). Gasket 4.4, placed between the manifolds at the junction of the branch pipes with the nut and the fitting, ensures a tight fit of the branch pipes to each other.

In FIG. 3 shows a three-dimensional image of the collector, where 5.1 is the membrane body.

The implementation of the shut-off and control mechanism, which is responsible for the amount of medium / liquid supplied to each line (manifold), in the form of a membrane ensures complete tightness, respectively, and the absence of media contamination, as well as the possibility of automatic control of the device, eliminating rapid wear.

The membrane can be made as described in the application WO2014133887, containing a valve body 5.1, having an inlet 5.2 and an outlet 5.3, separated by a locking mechanism, namely a valve seat 5.4 and a diaphragm 5.5, having a central stem 5.6, the first end of which is connected to the piston 5.7 to drive actuating the valve and poppet 5.8 to interact with the valve seat to close the valve (Fig. 4). The poppet forms a two-point seal with a valve seat having at least two points of contact between the annular surface of the poppet and the valve seat. The annular surface of the disc can be either concave or convex to provide a two-point seal. The valve has a detent adjacent to the diaphragm, and the diaphragm has a flexible web that extends radially outward from the center stem.

To block the flow, a signal is sent to the external control unit, as a result of which the central rod 5.6 and other elements of the locking mechanism are lowered, and the membrane partially or completely blocks the space connecting the inlet 5.1 and outlet 5.2 of the membrane valve 5.

The manifold body is preferably made from a single piece obtained by turning and milling operations. Dead zones in this design are preferably reduced to a minimum size.

Thus, interconnected manifolds make it possible to obtain a manifold design that provides, if necessary, a fairly simple inclusion of a given number of incoming / outgoing flows into the manifold due to the use of membranes (moreover, more resistant to wear than various mechanical solutions) to open and close the necessary taps.

Claims (5)

1. A pipeline manifold, characterized in that it includes manifolds with one or two input/outputs configured to connect the manifolds to each other, and an input/output configured to connect to a medium flow supply source or its receiver, which are equipped with shut-off a regulating mechanism in the form of a membrane, including a housing, an external control unit and a membrane valve, and located with the possibility of blocking and passing the flow of the medium coming from the source of its supply or to the receiver. 2. The pipeline collector according to claim 1, characterized in that the inputs/outputs of the manifolds are made in the form of nozzles. 3. The pipeline manifold according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the manifolds are interconnected by means of a nut and a fitting, which, in turn, are interconnected and fixed to the inlet / outlet of the corresponding manifold made in the form of a branch pipe using overhead half rings through a gasket . 4. The pipeline manifold according to claim 3, characterized in that the nut and fitting are interconnected by tightening them along a threaded connection. 5. The pipeline manifold according to claim 1, characterized in that the membrane includes a valve body having an inlet and outlet separated by a locking mechanism, namely a valve seat and a diaphragm having a central stem, the first end of which is connected to a piston to actuate the valve and poppet to interact with the valve seat to close the valve.

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