In bioreactors, delicate processes take place to multiply biological materials. These processes contain valuable substances, sometimes even beyond a price tag, as these can be an important step in a new vaccine or treatment.
Our commitment to our customers in the biotech industry is to make bioreactors work with reliable and reproducible mass flow controllers. For this blog, we interview Dion Oudejans and Vincent Hengeveld, Product Managers at Bronkhorst about reliable flow controllers. The Oxford Dictionary defines reliability as the quality of being able to trust to do what somebody wants or needs. Vincent and Dion explain that our commitment to reliability is built on various pillars.
By providing the most reliable mass flow instruments – using robust sensors and valves with stable electronics and firmware¸ documented in material certificates – high accuracy which is documented in calibration certificates and best in class mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) data based on the IEC 61508 standard, the quality can be guaranteed.
Could you explain what the high accuracy statement means and why this is an important selection criteria for our customers in the biotech industry?
Optimal accuracy and ratios are necessary to allow the biological substance to grow in the right environmental conditions. During a bioreactor campaign, biological substance grows over time and requires an increasing flow rate during the growth process. Both low and high gas flow rates are critical.
For these applications, Bronkhorst offers mass flow controllers, which use reliable and accurate capillary bypass technology and valve technology, which can achieve a dynamic flow range of up to 1:200, providing the low and high flow rates necessary for the growth process.
Mass flow controllers, which are built with capillary bypass technology, have a tube-shaped flow sensor inside that is positioned parallel – in bypass – with the main flow path. There is an accurate split of gas flow into the flow sensor and the main flow path, see picture (flow sensor used in the capillary bypass technology). This particular technology enables reliable and accurate flow measurement and control for all different gases involved.
Only a part of the gas stream flows through the sensor and is warmed up by two heater elements (RHT1 and RHT2). The gas flow through the flow sensor is a proportional measure for the total flow through the instrument. Due to the homogeneous nature of the temperature distribution within the sensor, only the flow rate, the density, and the heat capacity of the gas determine the flow output signal (Q, ρ, Cp).
Conversion factors (ρ۰Cp) can be applied to calculate the flow rate of gases other than the calibration gas.
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) measures availability and reliability of products. MTBF predicts the time that equipment is operating between breakdowns or stoppages. There are several methods of calculating the MTBF rating, with the IEC 61508 based on the Exida component database being the industry standard. With an MTBF rating of over 130 years for the major biotech industry product lines, we are best-in-class.
Easy field calibration with Air/N2, thanks to accurate conversion method and free software tools, supports our customer base to maintain the high accuracy documented in the calibration certificate provided at arrival of the mass flow controller.
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