The Application of Air Duct Panels with Smooth Surface in Pharmaceutical Factories & Laboratories

Introduction

Usually the polyurethane(PU) air duct panels are with embossed surface on both sides in the market. But, in the pharmaceutical industry, the quality of the production environment is of utmost importance and strictness. That’s why the inner side with smooth surface plays a crucial role.

Ø Importance of a Clean Environment in Pharmaceutical Factories

Pharmaceutical production requires strict control over the environment to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs. Any contamination can lead to serious consequences for patients. A clean and well-controlled air-handling system is essential to maintain the required level of sterility and purity.

Ø Features of Air Duct Panel with Smooth Surface

• Smooth Surface: The smooth surface inside of these air duct panel reduces the accumulation of dust and other particles. This is vital as in a pharmaceutical factory, even the tiniest particles can contaminate the production area. For example, if a small particle gets into the drug manufacturing process, it might affect the quality of the final product.

• Good Sealing Properties: Air duct panel with smooth surface are designed to have excellent sealing capabilities. This helps in preventing air leakage. In a pharmaceutical factory’s ventilation system, air leakage can disrupt the carefully balanced air-flow patterns and lead to areas with improper air circulation, which may in turn cause contamination risks.

• Easy to clean: As the internal space within ventilation ducts are limit, utilizing robots for cleaning can be an efficient and effective solutions. With a smooth surface instead of embossed surface will be easily for robots to clean the dust, fungi, particles.

Ø Why the production of smooth surface has more challenges?

• High requirements for polyurethane materials: Firstly, polyurethane duct insulation panel has extremely high requirements for appearance quality. The surface of high-quality polyurethane air duct insulation panel should be as smooth as a mirror, and any small defects will be clearly visible. This requires very precise foaming parameters for polyurethane, otherwise it is prone to surface defects such as pits, grooves, and bubbles. In addition, the curing speed of polyurethane must be fast, and there should be no deformation after the curing stage to avoid surface distortion of the finished board. Secondly, Foam must also have a certain flexibility to prevent it from being broken when making air duct.

• The manufacturing process is complex: The production process of polyurethane duct insulation panel is relatively complex. Before foaming, it is necessary to pour polyurethane onto the surface where the lower aluminum foil runs, and then composite the upper aluminum foil after foaming. During this process, if the foaming parameters of polyurethane are not properly controlled, it can easily lead to the production of defective boards. Therefore, the entire manufacturing process needs to be strictly controlled to ensure the quality and appearance of the product.

• High flame retardant performance requirements:  Polyurethane air duct insulation panel has very high requirements for the flame retardant performance of polyurethane. The oxygen index should be above 32 and the smoke density should be below 70. This high flame retardant requirement greatly limits its large-scale use, as many imported products from abroad cannot meet this standard. Some domestic manufacturers have even quietly lowered their flame retardant standards, resulting in uneven quality of products circulating in the market.

Ø Conclusion

Air Duct Panel with smooth surface is an essential component in the ventilation systems of pharmaceutical factories. Their unique properties contribute significantly to maintaining a clean and sterile production environment, which is crucial for the production of high-quality pharmaceutical products.