Sustainability in pharma with hot water sterilizers from Syntegon

Balancing sustainability, efficiency, and profitability in the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry presents a major challenge to manufacturers. Syntegon faces this challenge as a strategic partner alongside its customers – with technological innovations that help them achieve their sustainability goals without compromising on performance.

The HWBV sterilizer (hot water sprinkling process) from Syntegon subsidiary SBM Schoeller-Bleckmann-Medizintechnik embodies this approach. Pharmaceutical manufacturers use it to sterilize plastic or glass containers such as vials or ampoules.

The challenge: high energy consumption during sterilization

The process is energy-intensive: water is typically heated to around 121 degrees Celsius, sprayed over the containers, and then cooled down again. Since circulation water typically accounts for 40 percent of the energy balance of the entire process, it plays a significant role for both costs and emissions for pharmaceutical companies.

Thanks to targeted optimizations of the HWBV sterilizer from SBM Schoeller-Bleckmann Medizintechnik, customers now reduce their use of energy and water – and decrease their operating costs. The principle is simple and effective: Less process water volume flow in the pumps results in less power consumption. At the same time, newly designed distribution and product trays optimize the film coverage on the containers, which improves heat transfer.

Innovation with measurable results

Using less water – and using it more efficiently – in turn allows for smaller pumps, heat exchangers and pipes, which results in additional circulation water reductions. This improved design, which can also be customized to individual products, even allows for reduced process times in some cases. Thanks to advanced simulation methods (CFD) and extensive testing, the various technical optimizations yield impressive results:

– Up to 20% less process water used for sterilization
– Up to 10% less carbon emissions and energy costs
– Up to 7% reduced process times in heating and cooling stages