Standard for Compressed Air Exposure to Chinese Medicines

Compressed air in contact with traditional Chinese medicine shall meet the core standards of oil-free, dry, clean and sterile. The specific requirements are as follows:

1. oil-free requirements

• oil control: Compressed air must not contain impurities such as lubricating oil to avoid polluting traditional Chinese medicine. Generally, the oil content is very low, such as less than 0.01 mg/m & sup3;, to ensure air purity.
• Equipment selection: It is recommended to use an oil-free water-lubricated air compressor. This kind of air compressor realizes the lubrication and cooling of the compression process through water circulation, avoids the risk of oil pollution from the source, and is suitable for the production scene of traditional Chinese medicine with extremely high air quality requirements.

2. drying requirements

• moisture control: The compressed air should be kept dry to prevent the deterioration of traditional Chinese medicine due to moisture during production and storage. The dew point is generally required to be lower than -40°C to ensure that the moisture in the air exists in solid form and will not condense into liquid water.
• Drying equipment can be used with adsorption dryer, the use of porous solid material (such as molecular sieve, activated alumina) surface molecular force to absorb the moisture in the gas, to achieve the effect of deep drying.

3. cleanliness requirements

• particulate matter control: There should be no obvious particles in the compressed air to prevent pollution to the production of traditional Chinese medicine. Generally, the particle size of solid particles is less than or equal to 0.1 μm, and the number of particles is very low.
• Filtration equipment: Multi-stage filters are required, including particulate filters, coalescing filters, etc., to effectively remove dust and solid impurities in the air and ensure air cleanliness.

4. Sterility Requirements

• microbial control for compressed air in direct contact with traditional Chinese medicine, strict microbial control is required to prevent microbial contamination of drugs. Generally, the number of microorganisms is less than 1CFU/m & sup3;(colony forming unit per cubic meter), which is close to sterile state.
• sterilization measures: Set a sterilization filter in the compressed air system to remove microorganisms in the air. The sterilizing filter should have high filtration performance and be replaced regularly to ensure its filtration effect.