Temporary water treatment for Pfizer by Elga

The latest Elga Process Water development, Aquamove, a mobile/emergency water treatment service, has been successfully deployed at the Pfizer European R+D HQ and manufacturing site in Sandwich

The Pfizer European R+D Headquarters and manufacturing site in Sandwich, Kent, UK has seen substantial growth over the past decade.

This has led to increased demands on the site facilities, in particular the boiler plant and its associated support systems such as the de-ionised water plant.

With 45 bar boilers, the de-ionised water plant is not just necessary to meet the steam demand, but critical to safe operation.

Whilst plans to replace the boiler feed water plant with a new state of the art de-ionised water plant were well underway, contingency plans were required to ensure continuous operation of the existing D-I plant through the winter.

To meet this requirement, Pfizer employed the use of the latest Elga Process Water development, Aquamove, a mobile/emergency water treatment service.

With experience of meeting the Pfizer standards for a supply of high purity water for laboratories, production and R+D facilities, reaching a clear understanding of their requirements for the de-ionised water and boiler feed plant proved straightforward.

A project plan was quickly drawn up and agreed and a deployment date set.

Elga deployed two of its MORO24 units - Containerised reverse osmosis plants from its Stoke on Trent depot.

To provide a fully integrated system, Elga also provided a number of ancillary items.

Each MORO24 container is insulated, ventilated and comes with appropriate Health and Safety equipment (eye wash, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc).

The RO units also feature controllable, inverter driven HP pumps for energy efficiency and to help protect the RO membranes.

Each MORO was set to operate at around 17-18 m3/Hr (which is well inside its 24-25m3/Hr capability), producing permeate with conductivity in the range 9-10uS/cm.

This quality of water being fed to the existing D-I plant reduced the workload on the aging plant, and extended the period between required regenerations by a factor of 10, drastically reducing operator involvement - and this all dramatically improved the reliability of D-I supply.

The MORO units and ancillaries were electrically interconnected to allow fully automatic operation.

Client training was provided, and Elga provided round the clock assistance via its 24hr helpline.

Pfizer Utilities Operations Manager, Natalie Roberts said, "We've never employed a reverse osmosis plant before, but Elga Process Water provided full training for our operators, and full service back-up".

She added, "By next winter Pfizer will have commissioned its new ion exchange plant, but it's good to know that Aquamove can provide a temporary facility if needed again in the future.

For more details about Aquamove visit the special website.

In the event of losing pure water production call Aquamove!.

Back to top