Decarbonising Clean Rooms

在制药和医疗器械行业中，最大的能源（以及碳）消耗者之一是支持洁净室条件。制药洁净室规定在严格控制的条件下运行。根据所需的房间等级，有严格的微生物和颗粒物限制。为了达到这些限制，房间换气率很高，C级房间通常每小时换气30次，而办公室每小时换气率为3次。此外，去除颗粒和微生物的技术几十年来一直没有改变;该行业依赖于通常具有高压降的高效颗粒过滤器（HEPA）。在高压降和高空气交换率之间，用于服务洁净室的能量可以占生物制药设施直接碳足迹的60%。替代的非机械技术可用于减少洁净室的能耗。在该项目中，细胞和基因治疗弹射器创新中心（CGMIC）的一个洁净室将对其供暖、通风和空调（HVAC）系统进行改造，以结合低能耗、非机械技术和低压降过滤器。在改造前后，将监测房间的微粒和微生物负荷。使用非机械增强过滤将展示创新技术如何帮助制药行业向低碳未来过渡。

Within the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, one of the largest consumers of energy (and hence carbon) is to support clean room conditions. Pharmaceutical clean rooms are specified to operate under carefully controlled conditions. There are strict microbial and particulate limits according to the room grade required. To achieve these limits, room air exchange rates are high, typically 30 air changes per hour for a Grade C room which benchmarks against 3 air change rates per hour for an office. In addition, the technology to remove particles and microbes has been unchanged for decades; the industry relies on high efficiency particulate filters (HEPAs) which typically have high pressure drops. Between the high pressure drops and high air exchange rates, the energy used to service clean rooms can account for 60% of a biopharmaceutical facility's direct carbon footprint. Alternative, non-mechanical techniques are available to reduce energy consumption in clean rooms. In the project, a clean room at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult Innovation Centre (CGMIC) will have its heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system modified to incorporate low energy, non-mechanical techniques in combination with low pressure drop filters. The room will be monitored for particles and microbial load both before and after modification. The use of non-mechanical enhancement of filtration will demonstrate how innovative technology can assist the pharmaceutical industry in transitioning to a lower carbon future.