A medium-sized chemical manufacturer in Bishop, TX, produces different FDA-audited ibuprofen products. For over 25 years, this CGMP-certified plant has offered an ibuprofen portfolio consisting of four powder grades, a direct compressible grade, and two fast acting grades. The state-of-the-art plant has a completely closed system, requiring very little human intervention across over 100 vessels.
Due to the nature of their production site and the value of their product, consistent and accurate pressure measurements for their hexane bulk storage tank are essential for their systems to maintain quality and safety, manage inventory, and require little human intervention during the process. A traditional differential pressure sensor was already in place, but changing weather conditions negatively affected their measurements.
Hexane is highly volatile and flammable. Without accurate measurements, any unexpected pressure variations could mean leaks, overfilling, or vacuum conditions, all of which could pose safety hazards if left unchecked. A competitor’s traditional differential pressure devices, installed to monitor levels of hexane in their bulk storage tank, were a decent solution until the weather changed. The capillary lines would experience measurement drift as the temperature outside changed from cold to hot and back again. As a result, plant operators experienced downtime for recalibration and ran into repeated production snags.
VEGA hosted a lunch and learn event with plant operators to discuss our pressure portfolio, and an electronic differential pressure (EDP) solution got their attention. An EDP sensor would eliminate the need for measurements with capillary lines, and thus eliminate measurement drift from changing outdoor temperatures. VEGA representatives walked together with plant personnel to examine the current vessel setup, find any issues that may still be present, and determined if VEGA instrumentation fell within industry specifications. After the approval, ordering, and installation process was complete, the installation was inspected to make sure everything was running as intended.
Operators were immediately impressed with just how accurate the measurements were without interference from weather changes. Maintenance concerns are now a thing of the past with the sensor’s durable ceramic measuring cell, and with a Bluetooth connection and the VEGA Tools app, setup, commissioning, and troubleshooting can be performed easily at a distance and with minimal human interaction. This means better inventory management, increased safety, money saved from significantly less downtime, and higher product quality assurance.
The VEGABAR 82 EDP was just what this ibuprofen manufacturing facility needed. Electronic differential pressure transmitters’ exact measurements mean less shutdowns and more streamlined operations. Plant personnel don’t have to lose sleep over whether their Hexane bulk storage tank measurements are accurate, or if working nearby them poses a safety risk. And, just to be safe, if operators ever have any questions or concerns, VEGA’s support team is always available to help them when they need it, 24/7, 365 days a year.
Chemical manufacturers are always concerned about keeping their workers safer, decreasing downtime, running their operations more efficiently, and making more money. Having measurements, you can count on is one less thing plant operators have to worry about. That’s why this plant chose the VEGABAR 82 for electronic differential pressure measurements.