A novel extraction system using Flovent from Flomerics protects workers at Pfizer
Pfizer is now able to provide a high level of protection for operators working in an enclosure where wet cake is packed off from a centrifuge. This follows completion of a major contract by the project management group (PMG), who used Flovent air flow modelling software to optimise the extraction system in an enclosure where it was impossible to install a standard downflow containment booth.
In addition, the amount of equipment in the room at high level was such that a conventional downflow approach to this problem could not be considered due to the turbulence caused by the equipment obstructing the airflow.
PMG's building services engineers, therefore, decided on an alternative approach and produced a conceptual design for a custom-built extraction system. The concept involved introducing laminar airflow from the wall behind the operator and allowing it to flow across the room towards the extract plenum positioned behind the equipment. Although this novel solution to the problem was proposed and in theory would work, it had to be demonstrated to both the engineers and the client before the expense of installation. The cost of correcting these mistakes increases roughly by an order of magnitude at each stage of the design such that modifications made at the conceptual design stage may cost 100 or 1000 times less than correcting design mistakes once the room is in operation.
PMG therefore undertook an airflow modelling study on the proposed design using Flovent from Flomerics.
Not only did this allow them to prove that the concept would work, it also provided them with invaluable information on optimising the airflow volume and the required distribution of the air across the extract plenum.
Airflow modelling also meant that PMG's engineers were able to try a variety of 'what if' scenarios to see the effect of the operators' working position.
At the end of the project, this Flovent study has provided Pfizer with a novel, robust design that has been optimised for their specific application instead of relying on the engineering experience they have attained from previous designs.
