IBC Filling Station

Automated filling of intermediate bulk containers

Dispensing is a common activity in the pharmaceutical industry where active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipient powder are required to be filled accurately into IBCs. Often, such activities are still carried out in an open manner inside a Laminar Flow booth entailing issues for the operator due to strenuous manual handling, dust exposure and high risks of cross contamination.

Dec's solution to safely fill intermediate bulk containers generally includes PTS Powder Transfer System® installed on the container to be filled, thus avoiding gravity charging and the need of a second floor, an operating platform or drum lifting/tilting column.

PTS can be equipped with an additional vent filter allowing IBC breathing during the filling without contamination of both the environment and the extraction system.

With this solution, no additional nozzles are required on the IBC which can be installed on a floor scale for final weight control.

PTS can either be fixed or installed on a lifting column to be connected to IBCs of various sizes or for the

IBC Filling with PTS

IBC Filling with PTS and hammer mill

IBC Filling with PTS

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maintenance of the system. By integrating a sieve or a mill in line, the powder can be directly sieved or milled during the filling operation eliminating the need of a separate area to carry out this activity.

When handling potent APIs, the powder can be dosed accurately, directly out of drums by using DCS® Drum Containment System installed on load cells or by using the Isocharge system with integrated scale for the handling of bags. In this case, the scale of the IBC will be only used for the final weight check.

PTS can be equipped with a second transfer line to separate excipients from API charging. The complete dispensing system can be controlled automatically with integrated recipe management and connection to a MES system.

Dec offer various docking options from the simple cover with integrated gasket and ventilated extraction cover to the fully contained solution by using Dec's split valve technology.

The complete system can be cleaned in place and is suitable for operation in ATEX zone 1/21.