No waste of time for Hosokawa Containment

Following collaboration with an unnamed multinational biotech production company, Hosokawa Containment has developed a bespoke contained waste handling system designed to minimise the release of airborne contaminants during the waste collection process. The biotech company is to use the system as part of its full-scale production of vaccines.

The system, which requires minimum operator intervention, thus maintaining low personnel exposure levels to potential airborne contamination, pumps liquid waste to a double-outlet inside a laminar air flow booth; each outlet, via a series of safety interlocks, then passes the waste to an empty IBC which is manually placed on a weigh scale and connected by an airtight seal. The weigh scale acts as a safety back up, switching off the flow once a preset volume is reached, thus ensuring the prevention of overfill.

Safety sensors also prevent the flow of waste without the presence and connection of an unfilled IBC. All air displaced from the IBC is drawn off by an extraction system and passed through a HEPA filter to prevent airborne contamination.

Once the IBC is filled and the flow of waste stopped, spray balls wash the chute and outlet valve with water to prevent contamination of the top of the IBC on seal removal. The operator is then able to break the seal on the outlet of the IBC in order to fit the sealing cap, before a localised extraction system removes the air within the area of operation.