The leading product of Italvacuum’s drying technology is the CRIOX System, having achieved a great international success: more than 400 units currently installed in over 30 countries around the world.
First of all, CRIOX System is the only rotary vacuum dryer with electric lump breakers.
CRIOX System consists of a multiproduct rotary vacuum dryer / pulverizer, capable to perform the complete extraction of the solvents from the wet powders coming from filtering or centrifuge: whether they are intermediates, fine chemicals, finished products even thermo-sensitive, delicate, more o less fine, degradable, photosensitive, sterile, injectable, active pharmaceutical ingredients or chemically reactive.
Pilot trials
Italvacuum has two in-house CRIOX pilot systems for semi-industrial and laboratory drying tests on customer products.
Pilot tests are used to analyze product samples and instantly alter process parameters to determine ideal drying cycle pattern.
According to trial results, the customer is offered the most appropriate technology to meet its specific requirements. At the same time Italvacuum collects important information for the correct sizing of the equipment.
A detailed formal test report with charts and tables is issued to show the trend of the major parameters involved and draw conclusive considerations on the carried out trials.
If for organizational matters or because of the particular nature of the product involved, the customer wishes to carry out their own in-house tests, Italvacuum also offers skid-mounted systems that are readily transported and installed at customer’s site. In such cases, Italvacuum will also provide the technical personnel needed to conduct the trials.
o Rotating speed control
o Scheduling of operating cycles
o Constant torque with changing speed
o Absorption control
o Ventilated cooling
o Moreover, electric lump breakers ensure:
o Reliability and durability, also in heavy-duty
o Low maintenance
Special filtering systems, installed directly inside the chamber, are available to cover all processing requirements: sintered metal or PTFE cartridge type filters suitable for trapping very fine powders, whose effectiveness during the process is ensured by an automatic nitrogen back-washing system.
From the experience acquired in the optimization of the drying process, Italvacuum suggests also the use of a heated external safety cyclone filter, designed to avoid pressure losses and condensation phenomena, for a complete protection of the vacuum line.
Another special development of "Italvacuum" company - special pneumatic loading / unloading systems, which are tightly fixed and have only one movable element for connection. This movable element can be equipped with a Clean Connex cleaning device, consisting of C.I.P. washing nozzle. and draining / drying unit, which flushes and dries up surfaces that come in contact with the product and are subject to contact with the environment after each loading / unloading of the product, and before shutdown.
For product loading a dryer-mounted batch drum loader is also available, consisting of a pneumatically-actuated moving device which connects the drum containing the batch to be processed to the CRIOX hopper.
The batch drum loader uses the double-cone rotation to bring the batch drum into the vertical position ready for subsequent loading. When in load position, the butterfly valve on dryer hopper is opened for pouring: the product is introduced by gravity.
In this way the batch to be processed does not come in contact with the surrounding work environment.
Concerning internal cleaning, thanks to the rotation of the drying chamber and the combined action of the lump-breaking units, only very few rinses, with small quantities of fluid, are necessary to achieve the p.p.m. values required by FDA standards to consider a plant as clean, hence reducing the quantity of wastewater to be disposed of. Furthermore, inside the chamber, a C.I.P. device can be applied, able to spray the washing fluid in all the directions. Thanks to this fast and complete internal cleaning, CRIOX System permits to rapidly shift from one product campaign to another.
With reference to internal parts removal, the lump-breaking units blades can be easily disassembled thanks to their small size. Beside, the filtering system can be dismounted from the outside by using a special key in stainless steel, without difficulty for the operator.
Internal inspection is facilitated by the opening manhole port lid and the loading hopper. Moreover, in order to perform the SWAB test, required by the FDA standards for the validation of the washing procedures, Italvacuum designed and patented a large hatch that permits to open completely the machine and to carry out all the required operations with extreme easiness and safety.
CRIOX® System is available from 55 to 12,000 liter capacity. Maximum loading depends on the type of product to be processed. Conversely minimum chamber loading capacity is unrestricted, since the action of the lump breaker units is effective even with a few liters of product.
CRIOX System |
RBG 55 |
RBG 200 |
RBG 350 |
RBG 600 |
RBG 1000 |
RBG 1500 |
RBG 2000 |
RBG 2500 |
RBG 3000 |
RBG 4000 |
RBG 6000 |
RBG 8000 |
RBG 10000 |
RBG 12000 |
|
Total volume |
l |
55 |
200 |
350 |
600 |
1000 |
1500 |
2000 |
2500 |
3000 |
4000 |
6000 |
8000 |
10000 |
12000 |
A |
mm |
1150 |
1730 |
1950 |
2100 |
2300 |
2460 |
2600 |
2700 |
2920 |
3120 |
3560 |
3750 |
4000 |
4300 |
B |
mm |
2060 |
3120 |
3350 |
3600 |
3800 |
4050 |
4250 |
4360 |
4650 |
5000 |
5500 |
5750 |
6500 |
7000 |
C |
mm |
1825 |
2200 |
2400 |
2630 |
2850 |
3100 |
3160 |
3200 |
3360 |
3500 |
3850 |
3950 |
4200 |
4400 |
D |
mm |
780 |
780 |
780 |
830 |
810 |
815 |
730 |
640 |
630 |
560 |
530 |
360 |
360 |
360 |
E |
mm |
1520 |
1520 |
1900 |
2175 |
2425 |
2710 |
2770 |
2855 |
2975 |
3120 |
3490 |
3600 |
3900 |
4100 |
For the parts in contact with the product, the standard version of CRIOX is made of stainless steel AISI 316L (1.4404), but on request it can be made of other weldable materials, such as ALLOY C-22 (2.4602) and AISI 904L (1.4539).
The particular shape of the CRIOX System allowed also to realize successful versions with internal coating made of particular fluorine-polymer materials, characterized by a high resistance against products containing extremely corrosive substances (acids and bases).
The success obtained by these executions led Italvacuum to realize other versions with enamelled drying chamber, in which the application of a special enamel, consisting of alkaline boron silicates, on the steel support, makes the CRIOX chemically inert inside.
For these specific versions, the blades of the lumpbreaking units are made of ALLOY C-22 (2.4602) or other materials compatible with the process.