We have designed, developed and supplied, for an application in the pharmaceutical sector, thermoregulating units with electric heating for a potential of 100 kW and a relative cooling section.

These are diathermic oil thermoregulating units with a working temperature range of up to 180°C, the features of which are tailored to the customer’s specific needs.

The system is flexible, with reactors that can run at between 20 to 100% of their full capacity.

 

 

A unit of high thermal power can heat very quickly but can also involve the risk of compromising production when the walls reach extreme temperatures.

We opted instead for an equally flexible solution that can divide the thermal power into 4 separate steps of 25%, each controlled with an electronic PID thermoregulating unit and static relays.

 

 

 

The customer also requires direct control over the temperature of the product in the reactor, and requested that the temperature probe be installed in a remote position in the production process.

This type of installation involves various risks associated with the working limits of the stations. The probe does not act directly on the thermoregulated fluid, which could exceed the design limits. To ensure correct operation, fluid limit temperature control systems were installed that take priority over the PID thermoregulating unit, and automatically cut out the heating power to keep the units within the design limits and prevent activation of the overheating safety systems, in order to avoid downtime.

As this is a complex system, the following are remote controlled:

• configuration of the set-point
• reading the temperature
• alarms
• start-stop

Also, as the reactors are relatively large, there was some doubt as to where exactly these could be installed.

In order to ensure completely flexible connection and installation of the thermoregulating units on site, the expansion tank was designed to be easy to move into the ideal position for correct operation of the system, and sized according to the total expansion volume of the system concerned.

This project essentially involved careful design and customisation with the assistance of an external engineering company who, in collaboration with the customer’s own team, allowed us to devise a solution ensuring “Tempco Standard Custom Flexibility”.