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Flexible emissions monitoring for AstraZeneca

A Quantitech product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Apr 15, 2002

The AstraZeneca site in Macclesfield, Cheshire, demands an emissions monitoring capability for a wide range of analytes with the ability to collect data in real time.

The AstraZeneca site in Macclesfield, Cheshire is one of the company's two production facilities in the UK and is involved in all stages of drug manufacture - scale-up from small-scale R and D processes, bulk production and formulation.

The varied nature of the work means that batch processing is the norm.

This, and the development character of some of the work at Macclesfield, demands an emissions monitoring capability for a wide range of analytes with the ability to collect data in real time.

The Gasmet Dx-4000 FTIR system was chosen for the task, its portability allowing it to be readily moved around the site to monitor up to 10 different scrubber units.

A typical measuring period in any one location may be only 30-60min, again emphasising the need for real time data.

Unlike other FTIR systems, the Dx-4000 can be used with a lap-top rather than a full PC, an important consideration when mobility is crucial.

A specially designed "tent" is used to protect the unit from the elements, eliminating the need for permanent enclosure structures.

Analytes include solvents such as toluene and acetone, HCl and nitrogen oxides.

The ability of FTIR technology to not only measure but also identify specific compounds, and to do so retrospectively from stored data is seen as a particularly powerful tool.

And, as the Manager of the Environmental Monitoring Laboratory at Macclesfield points out: "Comprehensive emissions monitoring, as well as ensuring we are always working within our operating permits, can be a useful indication of process performance and hence another quality control resource".

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