Correct level measurement even in the most difficult conditions

As a supplier in the pharmaceutical industry, you have to work quickly, flexibly and with extreme precision. Just the same properties that you then demand of your level measuring instruments. Aji Bio-Pharma from India has therefore been relying on the VEGAPULS 64 radar.

Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, with facilities in Belgium, the US, Japan and India, offers a wide range of development, cGMP manufacturing and aseptic filling services for small and large molecules, APIs and intermediates. In doing so, it uses a variety of innovative platforms and features for preclinical studies and pilot programs in commercial quantities. Most recently, it announced an agreement with Humanigen for the production of Lenzilumab. That drug, currently in development phase 3, is one of the few treatment options for patients who end up in the hospital with Covid-19. 

The Indian site in Visakhapatnam has been in existence since 2011. It was designed and built based on the GMP business standards and quality systems of Aji Bio-Pharma's Belgian sites, and approved by the FDA. For more than five years, the company has relied on VEGA's measurement technology for level measurement in a plant for API intermediates. The VEGAPULS 64 radar level sensors operate at temperatures between -25 and 150 °C, comply with ATEX requirements and are used with various process connections (DN50 / DN80 / DN100 flange).

Optimal quality and yield

Most media to be measured in the plant are liquid and suspended. Correct measurement is necessary to meet strict quality requirements and to achieve higher yields. Too high a level would lead to overflow; too low a level would mean cavitation in the pump. Moreover, the level is an important parameter for an efficient distillation process. The determination of the interface has a direct influence on product quality and yield. 

In fact, environmental conditions have everything that can make life difficult for measuring instruments. For example, agitators cause foaming and create turbulent surfaces, while at the same time contamination, high temperatures and vibrations occur. Acid fumes come into direct contact with the sensor. In addition, explosion safety (zone 1) and SIL must be observed. Therefore, the process in the reactor vessel has so far been monitored manually by the operator.

Reliability convinces

Radar measurement technology was chosen because of the high accuracy of this measurement principle, compared to ultrasonic or differential pressure measurements. "I know of no other sensor that meets the VEGAPULS 64 can match," is the experience of Vikramsena Reddy, project manager at Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services. 

This is mainly due to the low radiation angle of 3°. Thanks to the focused radar signal, the sensor manages to perform its measurements perfectly within a very tight radius. Agitators in the tanks are also prone to cause interference signals, but the sensor's radar signal simply bypasses such obstacles. Product growth on the agitators or on the walls of the tanks also do not play a role. "This allowed us to increase the yield of the process," Reddy adds. 

The wider dynamic range of the VEGAPULS 64 also leads not only to a more accurate, but also to a more reliable signal. Furthermore, VEGA offers materials specially tailored to the high requirements of the pharmaceutical sector according to FDA, EG 1935/2994 and GB Standards. The hygienic design meets all standards according to EHEDG and 3-A Sanitary.

Practical in daily work

"Installation is really easy, the sensor is suitable for any flange size and in particular the small opening angle allows the sensor to be installed anywhere on the tank. We set up and calibrated the sensor via Bluetooth, without any help from VEGA," recalls Reddy, who finds it convenient that each VEGA instrument could be set up in the same way. "With identical tanks, the parameters can be transferred from one instrument to another almost by copy and paste." 

For Reddy, the switch to VEGA's radar level measurement technology has clearly paid off. In addition to reliable level measurement, precise determination of the interface is now possible. Although the sensors were installed in existing tanks, the costs for the flange and mechanical modifications were contained. "After installation, we could actually more or less forget about the measurement point. There is also no longer a need for regular calibration," Reddy says with satisfaction, and that despite the fact that some of the media has a high acid content. VEGA's radar level measurement technology has now become the standard at the company.