NEW BOC TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM TO AID FINE CHEMICALS INDUSTRY

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NEW BOC TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM TO AID FINE CHEMICALS INDUSTRY
04 December 2001 - BOC Gases

The process, which was designed and installed by the company for use at Rhodia ChiRex’s general purpose plant at its Holmes Chapel site, will assist in the control of reaction temperatures during chemical manufacture, which is a critical parameter in many ‘current good manufacturing practice’ pharmaceutical production processes.

The temperature control system, installed in January this year, combines steam heating, glycol chilling and liquid nitrogen cryogenic cooling into a single compact package conveying heat to and from the reactor jacket through a common heat transfer fluid loop to control temperature to +/-1oC. Previously such processes have required the use of a steam or electric heating jacket around a reactor, a brine or glycol loop to cool the reactor, and a cryogenic liquid nitrogen loop to give very low temperatures or where the reactions are strongly exothermic.

The system was engineered by BOC’s engineering applications group in Guildford, Surrey, and was installed against the clock to meet aggressive deadlines for the manufacture of new pharmaceutical intermediates. It has met all Rhodia Chirex’s expectations, particularly as plant operators now only have to input a single desired set point temperature and ramp rate, rather than monitor and balance two or three competing inputs.

Nick Lindop, Rhodia Chirex’s engineering manager described the process as "one of the site’s key technologies", and added; "I must commend the BOC team for their attitude and support. They made a big contribution during the commissioning of the reactor and liased very closely with the Rhodia team".

http://www.boc.com

About: BOC Gases
Through its PGS line of business, BOC supplies gas and related solutions to the chemicals, petroleum, glass, water services, electronic packaging, fibre optics, hydrogen energy, metals and food industries. BOC helps meet customer needs in a variety of ways, from the supply of a single gas or application through to designing, constructing and operating fully integrated gas and utilities schemes.

The BOC Group, which serves two million customers in more than 50 countries, is one of the largest and most global of the world's leading gases companies. It employs some 44,500 people worldwide and had annual sales of over £4.3 billion in 2003. Further information about The BOC Group may be obtained on the Internet at www.boc.com

The BOC Group has an international portfolio of companies grouped for management control and reporting into three lines of business: Process Gas Solutions, Industrial and Special Products, and BOC Edwards. It also has a specialist logistics business, Gist.

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