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Continuous on-line monitoring can be used to alarm unacceptable deviations from established control points and to ensure quality standards are maintained.
Raw water must be treated to make it "wholesome" or suitable for
consumption. The physical, chemical and biological nature must often
be improved, which otherwise would impart unacceptable taste and
odour characteristics. In addition to chlorination, filtration is
used to remove suspended solids and even provides a physical barrier
to pathogens such as Chryptosporidia. Coagulation and pH correction
may also be used to improve water quality.
Any pharmaceutical company manufacturing injectable products, supplying the USA market must comply with the USP (United States Phamacopoeia Regulations) monograph section 643 for clean water. This philosophy is also now being adopted for other processes and markets. The USP regulation defines key water quality parameters that include pH, conductivity and TOC. The recent addition of the TOC parameter has replaced the "Oxidisable Substances" test that was considered to simplistic. TOC is a measure of the total amount of dissolved organic carbon identifying the degree of contamination. The Protoc® TL range has been specifically designed for Trace Level (ppb) measurement offering unrivalled technical-price flexibility.
The industry has long been aware of the importance of water quality for cleaning, polishing and process usage. Some organic species when oxidised (typically biologically) form conductive acids that may lead to premature failure of integrated components. Similarly TOC is an important parameter used to identify contamination levels and PPM has developed the Protoc® TL range for this application.
Water recycling to reduce consumption has significant
financial benefit. The Protoc® TOC analyser has been installed
to monitor the quality of recovered wash water and condensate return
pre and post treatment. Boiler water also needs to be closely monitored
especially for trace DO and pH to protect against corrosion. Some
applications also require detection of free oil in water. |
