Dehumidification for Labstick Production

At Epernon, Bayer Diagnostics manufacture a range of chemical and pharmaceutical products including the production of labsticks, a widely used diagnostic aid. A labstick’s working properties are made of a chemical agent fixed to a paper. The reactive paper is hygroscopic and humidity disturbs its reactivity. All handling of this reactive paper must be alone in an atmosphere with a relative humidity lower than 12%. In order to reach the required 12% RH in the processing areas, Bayers Diagnostics used Munters desiccant dehumidification system equipped with fans, filters, heaters and coolers. The system supplies 5000m3/hr to maintain a 12% relative humidity in a single room. The system is equipped with high performance filters to avoid cross contamination between products. In order to avoid involuntary infiltration of outdoor moisture, the room is kept under a certain overpressure by supplying 1000m3/hr fresh outdoor are to a mixing box. After the air has passed through filters, a fan blows the air through a dehumidifier. The Munters dehumidification system fully corresponds to the production. The humidity/temperature parameters and the installation of a full system of filtration avoids all risks of contamination. The design of the Munters system avoids bacterial growth risks.