Intelligent pumps to optimize use of water in pharma industry: Shankar Rajaram

Bengaluru, August 12, 2021:

In the wake of climate change and water crisis, pharma industry is turning to invest in intelligent pumps. This is to optimize use of water which is a critical component in research and manufacture among others for the sector.

The pharma sector has been focusing on the judicious use of the right quality of water for their manufacturing processes, but sadly half of global waste water generated by the industry is released without pre-processing. This makes it crucial to adopt water technologies and processes which can ensure sustainable manufacturing, said Shankar Rajaram, head of sales, industry, INDO Region, Grundfos.

Water management is a challenging task in the pharmaceutical industry and topping the list of priorities is the requirement for a greater understanding of the water needs for each plant. An efficient and reliable plant focusses on perfecting its processes of water usage, recycling and replenishing. Another challenge is ensuring use of right amount of water. Both challenges can be solved using intelligent and efficient technology and through pump systems that can handle high output with minimum maintenance, Rajaram told Pharmabiz

For instance, the Vishakhapatnam-based Rakshit Pharma, a leading API manufacturer is conscious about its water usage. The company utilized Grundfos iSOLUTIONS and went a long way in reducing complexity of its water systems by using e-pumps. The result being that energy efficiency and dependability of the pumping systems saw a significant uptick. Another major problem faced by the factory was ensuring reliable delivery of demineralized (DM) water. This was achieved by the usage of the CRE pump in conjunction with top-of-the-line IE5 MG motors. These two synchronize to form a quite effective DM water circulation system, he said.

While pharma manufacturing is a complex process, digital dosing pumps are increasingly helping with such processes. Digital dosing systems are intelligent chemical dosing solutions that ensure superiority in precision and accuracy as compared to traditional dosing pumps. Such pumps have the capability to ensure automated monitoring of chemicals through advanced control of process and integration with system control, Rajaram explained.

Even pharmaceutical companies in the Zydus SEZ (special economic zone) have been using a common effluent treatment plant set up to treat the wastewater released from its cluster. The companies utilized an array of intelligent solutions offered by Grundfos, right from digital dosing pumps, dosing tank stations, hydro-pneumatic systems, high-pressure pumps, and solar surface pumps for this purpose. The plants witnessed a significant reduction in power consumption, minimal maintenance and downtime due to the increased efficiency of new setup. The digital dosing pumps and dosing tank stations also ensured optimum chemical consumption in the treatment process.

Adopting the digital data-driven approach with intelligent pumps, the pharma industry paved the way for integration of automated systems in water management from consumption and usage to efficient disposal. With elements such as IoT and AI in play, different pumps across the entire industrial process system can be interlinked and monitored remotely. This will also help in the smooth functioning of the processes by analyzing data in real time, thereby reducing downtime, saving high on energy and upholding reliability, said Rajaram. Pharmabiz