Traditionally, the calibration of load cells, or weighing systems, in biopharma manufacturing facilities involves placing a tank on standby, cleaning it, and filling it with demineralized water. A flow meter allows for determining the added water’s weight, a reference for calibrating the weighing cells or the entire weighing system.
Production tanks or vessels typically range from 100 to 100,000 liters in capacity. If adjustments to the weighing system are necessary after calibration, filling the tank with up to 100,000 liters of water will be repeated multiple times throughout the calibration process. Some companies are even required to demonstrate repeatable measurement results, further increasing downtime, water consumption, and energy used for water preparation.
In essence, the traditional water-based calibration method consumes significant working hours, water, and electricity, all of which impact the operational budget of any manufacturing company. However, the Danish company Eilersen Calibration Solutions, a specialist in weighing technology, has now introduced an innovative solution.
An Environmentally Friendly Calibration Solution
The EilerCal™ unit comprises a custom designed hydraulic cylinder connected to an Eilersen digital reference load cell. Instead of using water as a reference weight, each hydraulic cylinder exerts force on the tank or vessel as if it was filled with product. This force is then measured accurately by the reference load cell, enabling precise calibration of the installed weighing system. The EilerCal™ solution is easily mounted on individual tanks and can be removed after use, facilitating its use on other tanks within the facility as needed.
Sebastian Schlicker, Product Manager at EilerCal™, sheds light on the company’s perspective: “Even before the official product launch, we received numerous inquiries from industry professionals who had heard the rumors about EilerCal. The pharmaceutical industry is committed to sustainability through water conservation and seeks a more efficient and reliable calibration process, which EilerCal™ can deliver.”
“For example, a pharmaceutical manufacturer with 20 tanks of each 8,000-liter capacity can save at least 160,000 liters of water per tank annually by adopting EilerCal™. This figure alone guarantees that EilerCal™ has the potential to save the pharmaceutical industry millions of liters of water.
Moreover, EilerCal™ can significantly enhance production uptime. While traditional water-based tank calibration takes many hours, an EilerCal™ calibration process only takes around 30 minutes or less.” Sebastian Schlicker, Product Manager at EilerCal, explains.
EilerCal™ is designed for calibrating tank weighing solutions ranging from 100 to 80,000 liters. Although the primary focus lies within the biopharma industries, many similar production tanks, or vessels, for instance in food and beverages manufacturing, can benefit from switching to EilerCal™ as their preferred calibration method.
Already, several biopharma manufacturers have successfully implemented EilerCal™, generating significant interest from other companies within the industry.
