Page 34 - Clean India Journal Magazine June 2019 Issue

MARKET REPORT

compression, coating and packing are done. Since much • Residual Rinse Water: In instances where even a
of the process is automated and most involve some kind trace amount of moisture could be detrimental to
of device, a whole range of machines and equipment like product quality, the cleaning procedure must leave the
mixing tanks, tablet presses, capsule fillers, centrifuges, equipment free of any trace of the final rinse solution.
granulators, filling lines, mixers, conveyors, filters, fluid
lines, batch process tanks, tubes and flasks all need to be Gels, polyethylene glycol, oils, titanium dioxide, dyes,
thoroughly cleaned. silicons, flavourings, petrolatum, paraffin, proteins,
steroids, sugars, alcohol, stearates, and corn-starch are
What do they need to be cleaned of? some of the typical pollutants that are often found on
pharmaceutical processing equipment. Ideally, none of
• Soils: Traces of the various ingredients used in these should become part of a drug formulation, beyond
production or soils from the actual manufacturing certain acceptable limits.
process such as oil, grease, dust or minerals.
Understanding the soils that are present guide the
choice of cleaning detergent. Cleaning Processes
• Excipients: Colours, flavours and other excipients and Equipment and production areas are cleaned by variety
decomposition materials from excipients. of techniques, depending upon the type of impurity:
• Micro-organisms: Bacteria such as Staphylococcus 1. Mechanical action: brushing, scrubbing, pressurized
aureus and E. coli. water to remove particulates.
• Particulate contamination: Presence of specks and 2. Dissolution: dissolving various kinds of residues
fibre. left on pharma processing equipment with a suitable
• Residue of detergents used for cleaning purpose. solvent.

34 Clean India Journal www.cleanindiajournal.com
June 2019