Maximum ease of cleaning, maintenance and internal inspection: a mix of qualities that make CosmoDry System® the ideal solution even for multi-product applications.
CosmoDry System® is the innovative horizontal paddle vacuum dryer created by Italvacuum as the result of a deep analysis, conducted in cooperation with the most demanding customers, regarding the most urgent requirements of their production.
Power, loading flexibility, drying speed, ease of unloading, maximum product quality. These are all fundamental values. But Italvacuum went further, in order to facilitate cleaning and internal inspection. A quality that allows to maintain over time the machine’s perfect efficiency and to optimize the production processes.
CosmoDry System® is based on an operating philosophy conceived for the drying of wet powders coming from filtration or centrifugation stages and it is suitable for the production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API), Fine Chemical and Intermediates.
CosmoDry System® consists of a horizontal cylindrical chamber, equipped with a concentric agitator, fitted with an heated shaft dismountable in sections: this is the great added value of the CosmoDry System®, setting it apart from conventional paddle vacuum dryers.
The peculiar configuration of the agitator enables continuous stirring of the product and facilitates its thermal exchange, reducing drying time. Moreover, it was designed to limit mechanical and thermal stresses, thus allowing the treatment of thermo-sensitive products. But that is not all. Its special features allow to reduce product deposition at a minimum, providing an easy and efficient unloading operation, for which a dedicated operative cycle has been introduced.
Finally a value that has always been a milestone for Italvacuum: safety. CosmoDry System® is safe for the product and the operators, because it is designed and manufactured in compliance with the increasingly strict safety standards and according to cGMP and ATEX regulations.
Constructive details
For the parts that are in contact with the product CosmoDry System® is built in AISI 316L stainless steel, but other weldable materials are also available if requested by customer, for instance ALLOY C-22 and AISI 904L.
The walls of the drying chamber, the port lid and the agitator shaft are heated through diathermic liquid circulation. Internal surfaces are mirror polished or electropolished in order to optimize resistance to corrosion, reduce friction on the product and simplify cleaning operations.
The agitator shaft is equipped with a double mechanical seal system, conceived to guarantee perfect vacuum tightness and absolute purity of the dried batch, avoiding any risk of product contamination. The mechanical seal can be pressurized through liquid or inert gas.
Maximum ease of cleaning and inspection
Easy internal cleaning is guaranteed by an efficient C.I.P. system, that allows the washing of all the parts in contact with the product.
The frontal port lid and the easy disassembling of the agitator in different parts provide great accessibility for inspection and SWAB testing: no bulky equipment is required, thus preventing long machine stops. A feature that makes CosmoDry System® unique compared to vacuum dryers.
The exterior of CosmoDry System® is easy to clean as well. The watertight external cladding of the entire machine (cGMP "particle free" configuration) covers the insulation, the electric wiring and the hydraulic and pneumatic piping. In addition no support frame occupies the sterile room, only the drying chamber flanged to the wall. This makes external cleaning extremely easy, preventing product accumulation. These features, together with the partitioning solution, allow clean room installation, guaranteeing pressurization and separation of sterile room from technical room.
Turnkey systems
Italvacuum is the only manufacturer in the world that, in addition to the dryer itself, can design and build internally all the auxiliary units that complete the plant, properly sizing them to meet every process requirement, vacuum system included:
- High vacuum group SAURUS 939
- Vacuum condensation group for reduction of drying time and recovery of extracted solvents
- External safety filtering unit for powders containment
- Heating and cooling group for system thermoregulation
- Control panels with PLC for complete plant management, provided with software that is certifiable according to CFR 21 – Part 11 regulations, and that guarantees reproducibility of the dried batches and communication with centralized supervision systems
Dimensions
CosmoDry System® presents a great loading flexibility. It is manufactured in volumes ranging from 150l to 4,400l. The loading capacity can vary from 30% to 80% of the chamber’s volume, according to the processed product, meeting in this way the multiple needs of chemical and pharmaceutical industries.