Instrumentation

PRODUCTS

  • Sulfide odor control within sanitary sewers has been practiced for over 50 years, yet only recently have substantive advances been made. Where once the choice of chemical treatment was either chlorine or iron salts, safer and more environmentally benign technologies based on nitrates, hydrogen peroxide, and/or magnesium hydroxide have gained acceptance. These new alternatives, however, can increase treatment costs substantially and present limitations in themselves. Therefore, it makes sense to explore new avenues for lessening the adverse impacts of the older, cheaper mainstays, particularly iron salts (ferrous/ferric chloride or sulfate) that provide other benefits to wastewater treatment operations.

  • The CHOgro Expression System is an optimized platform for transient, high titer protein production in suspension CHO derived cells. 

  • BioBLU Single-Use Bioreactors combine the advantages of single-use technology with the trusted performance of stirred-tank design. Different variants are suitable for cell culture and microbial fermentation in R&D and clinical and commercial manufacturing. BioBLU Single-Use Bioreactors are compatible Eppendorf bioprocess controllers.

  • When applied to plant influents, hydrogen peroxide destroys dissolved and/or total sulfide that otherwise scavenges Fe3+ added for CEPT and/or chemical phosphorus removal from wastewater. The foundational aspect of this PRI-TECH application (called PRI-CEPT) is that one lb of total sulfide theoretically consumes 3.5 lbs Fe3+ and thus represents an additional cost of $2 – 3 per lb influent sulfide.

  • When AST came to the table on the design for our new fill-finish isolator, one of the first areas AST engineers wanted to address was the usability and accessibility of the isolator and corresponding operations. With our customers’ point of view in mind, we wanted to address specific points of friction routinely encountered by operators and closely examine whether those friction points were necessary.

    Does an isolator need to be ergonomically unfriendly to clean?

    Should simple mechanisms like isolator doors be challenging to engage? (As much as one can appreciate exercise, no one wants to do “arm day” in cleanroom coveralls).

    Does routine maintenance have to be time-consuming and laborious?

    Many of these factors are accepted as par for the course in aseptic fill-finish manufacturing. Our question was, why?

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ABOUT

Instrumentation
The science of measuring and controlling variables is termed instrumentation. As the name suggests, the process involves using a wide variety of instruments. These are classified as any device that can measure amounts that are physically quantifiable. These instruments do not have to be extremely complex in design. For example, the ruler is an instrument to measure distance, and a simple thermometer measures temperature.
Instruments specific to petrochemical processing include platinum Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD’s), P/I Converters, many types of level meters, chromatographs, and continuous gas analyzers. These instruments are essential to the day to day instrumentation at petrochemical plants, as it is impossible to gauge to the necessary extent by estimation alone. Human error is inevitable, but an instrument can easily be calibrated or replaced.
Now that you understand the definition of and tools used in instrumentation, you should also understand the necessity of it. Temperature and pressure meters serve to ensure that the environment stays safe for both the chemicals being processed and the employees of the plant. Heat is a very well-documented activator in chemical reactions. If the temperature rises to unusual levels, this could spark an undesired chemical reaction that could prove catastrophic. The flow meter must measure how much oil is leaving the refinery, as it is a very volatile substance. Analytical instruments, such as the chromatograph, analyze the chemical make-up of the refined oil. This allows for the opportunity to make sure that the chemical make-up is correct, giving evidence that the process was correctly completed at all stages of refinement.