Improved balance in nutrient metering

A major pharmaceutical company based in New Brunswick, NJ wanted to improve the performance of their system metering nutrient broth into a biological reactor. Watson-Marlow technical staff worked with them to solve this complex metering application.

The company was using Watson-Marlow 500 series pumps in this humid application and was pleased with their accuracy, but wanted to upgrade the capabilities by taking advantage of other control features the Watson-Marlow pumps offered to achieve even more accurate metering, automation and record keeping.

The proposed upgrade was to electrically interface the Watson-Marlow pumps with a scale, controller and computer along with two tanks, all mounted onto a cart near the reactor.

The improvements were a success - greater accuracy is achieved with the loss-in-weight method, and all relevant data is stored in the computer. But the most important benefit was the reliability of the system. Previously, personnel were required 24 hours a day to refill the tanks. Since they’re now replenished automatically, the system requires only periodic human supervision, and is less costly.

500 series cased pump