Freeze Drying Systems for Non-Sterile Production
24Pages

Freeze Drying Systems for Non-Sterile Production Customised Solutions Designed & Made in Germany

Creating value with quality and innovation Martin Christ Gefriertrocknungsanlagen GmbH is a leading global company that develops and manufactures freeze drying systems, with over 70 years of experience. Our entire expertise and experience is focused on designing and building customer-specific solutions. Martin Christ has traditionally focused on customers who want to produce in compliance with cGMP, but not in a sterile environment. Applications in diagnostics, biotech products, inorganic nanoscale materials, and non-sterile pharma make up our core business. The name Martin Christ is...

In the field of non-sterile applications, there is a wide spectrum of products. All the products have one thing in common: they are thermally sensitive and have valuable content, so they can ideally be dried using lyophilisation. Because the preservation step takes place at the end of the process chain, after the final product has already been refined to a great degree, our customers place high demands on the reliability and technical execution of the freeze drying systems. In the field of diagnostics, more unusual cavities are often used, such as container that consist of two or more...

In sterile production, fully automated vial loading and unloading systems are state of the art, with isolators when needed. In the non-sterile environment, however, loading and unloading are often performed by hand or semi-automated, using loading trolleys. We are increasingly integrating automated filling technology and unloading of the dried product, for example using vacuum transport. Food products Bacterial suspensions Industrial ceramics Diagnostics, test kits Biotechnology products

Unbeatable expertise Single-chamber systems Non-sterile cGMP applications often have special properties and forms that require solutions to be tailored to the customer and their specific case. We therefore offer freeze dryers based on two different formats, each of which can be specifically tailored to customer requirements. Single-chamber production systems have a cylindrical drying chamber with integrated ice condenser. They make sense when high drying capacity and moderate investment and energy costs are key. The system concept ensures reliable, economical operation for years. With large...

Double-chamber systems In the double-chamber approach developed by Martin Christ, the ice condenser is located directly below the drying chamber. The large, closable opening produces ideal flow cross sections for the water vapor. The cross sections must be sufficient to handle the enormous amounts of water vapor produced during drying, or the pressure differential between the drying and ice condensation chambers would be too high. The capacity and cost effectiveness of the system is significantly increased, as it operates near the collapse temperature. Particularly temperature-sensitive...

Single-chamber system principle Shelf areas between 1.8 and 16.2 m2 and ice condenser capacities from 20 to 200 kg Ice condenser directly in the product space Inexpensive to manufacture Shelf space for bulk products and special applications that do not require vial closure under vacuum Compact single-frame construction (separate machine frame available as an option) Drying with • Freezing point determination and process optimisation: LyoControl • Wireless product temperature measurement: WTMplus • Monitoring and documentation via camera: LyoCam • End of drying definition: Comparative...

Double-chamber system principle Shelf space between 1.2 and 40 m2 shelf space, with ice condenser capacities between 16 and 500 kg. Ice condenser below the product chamber with integrated condenser tank Ice condenser can be cut off with intermediate valve, for example to run pressure rise tests or to load and unload during defrosting Shelves are identical for bulk goods and vial closure, with particularly uniform drying when vials are used Automatic CIP cleaning (clean in place) available in several versions Drying with • Freezing point determination and process optimisation: LyoControl •...

World-class detailed engineering Properly sized refrigeration systems to save energy Production freeze dryers are equipped with up to six independent refrigeration systems, depending on the size of the system. Commercially available piston compressors are typically used. The entire refrigeration system works mainly on the heat-transfer system to chill the shelves during the freezing process, and mainly on the ice condenser during the drying process, depending on the process segment. Intelligent energy management across all phases of the freeze drying process balances heat input with the...

Highest quality shelves The shelves for bulk products, vials, or other vessels are made of high-quality stainless steel. They are welded using state-of-the-art laser welding, with surface roughness of Ra ≤ 0.8 µm. Flatness is ± 0.5 mm across the entire shelf. The number of shelves is variable, according to customer requirements, the number of drying vessels, and the ratio of total shelf space to ice condenser capacity. Shelf designs are optimized with FEA, so they are robust but light in weight. Heating and cooling times are reduced. The constant temperature distribution across the shelf...

Perfect cleaning… a batch winner! Cleaning The freeze dryer can be cleaned manually or automatically using the clean in place, or CIP, process. Manual cleaning Our proven double-chamber design provides very good accessibility through the full-size door to the drying chamber with the shelves and especially to the ice condenser chamber. This optimal accessibility makes manual cleaning easy. As a rule, the user establishes an SOP for the cleaning procedure. With manual spray-down and wiping, both the freeze drying chamber with shelves and the ice condenser chamber with coils are cleaned the...