Downdraught benches are an essential part of the pharmaceutical industry as they provide a safe workspace for weighing, sampling and packaging powdered medication. The sector have strict guidelines to follow to ensure the health and safety of staff in the workplace and this includes ensuring that the correct equipment is in place and an efficient ventilation system is integrated and well maintained. With the integration of mechanical fans, downdraught benches are effective in eliminating the risk of staff being exposed to potentially potent, active ingredients during processes.
Downdraught benches have perforated surfaces which allows the fan inside to vacuum any contaminated air particles away from the user and through its set of HEPA filters, preventing any harmful exposure. The highly effective carbon filters trap the contaminated air particles and the cleaned air is recirculated back into the room. Benches have an optional speed controller and a pressure gauge to indicate the condition of the filters. Both the fan air flow and filters will need to be monitored and maintained to ensure the bench equipment and overall facility are working to the highest efficiency. Downdraught equipment should be checked to ensure compliance with ISO 14644-1 cleanroom standards.
The Importance of The Fan in Downdraught Benches
Choosing the right fan is crucial for this type of application to ensure that the system works to optimum efficiency. The volume of air and the static pressure throughout the system need to be considered as well as the temperature of the room and any substances or moisture in the air. The BD inch blower is a simple solution to pulling contaminated air through the HEPA filters inside the downdraught table and then through ductwork to further filtration and cleaning systems. EC fans such as the E (Fibre Reinforced Plastic), B (Aluminium) or G-Wheel (Metal) are also effective in this type of application due to the ability to meet the desired duty with ease whilst also being compact and having the added benefits of reduced noise operation and low running costs.
BD Inch Blowers
Modular Backward Curved Plug Fan with EC drive: GKHM
Powder control is a key aspects of manufacturing and packaging in pharmaceutical the pharmaceutical sector. Sampling, weighing, and packing can be subject to contamination if even a small amount of foreign particulate enters the clean space.
To learn more about containment and industrial fan technology used to prevent powder processing contamination view our applications page here.
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