The pharmaceutical industry is a vital sector that impacts people's physical and mental health. It encompasses multiple fields, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and medical supplies, and plays a significant role in the national economy. Because titanium is non-toxic, harmless, and highly biocompatible, it is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry.
In pharmaceutical manufacturing, the production of drugs inevitably involves acids, alkalis, and salts, making pharmaceutical equipment highly susceptible to corrosion and damage. The use of steel equipment not only fails to address the problem of severe corrosion but also results in significant losses of manpower, material resources, and financial resources, thereby disrupting normal production. The use of titanium equipment, however, effectively resolves this issue.
In the production of several major commonly used pharmaceuticals, equipment made of titanium exhibits excellent corrosion resistance and has yielded significant economic benefits.
1. Vitamin B1 Production
In China, vitamin B1 is primarily produced using the hydrochloric acid conversion method, with the finished product undergoing cyclone drying and two-stage cyclone separation. The process medium is thiamine hydrochloride, with a pH of 2.5 and a temperature of 110°C, making it highly corrosive. The original drying equipment was made of stainless steel; within just over a year of use, corrosion caused perforations in the inner walls, resulting in severe contamination of the pharmaceutical product.
After installing titanium-lined spiral feeders, cyclone separators, vortex chambers, hoppers, discharge pipes, and exhaust gas chambers, the production yield rate for vitamin B1 increased from a maximum of 95% to 100%. Furthermore, the equipment has shown no signs of corrosion after more than seven years of use, and the cost of the titanium lining was recouped within three months.
2. Vitamin C Production
Vitamin C is produced using sorbitol as the raw material. It is first fermented by Acetobacter to produce sorbitose, then fermented by Pseudomonas to produce low-concentration gluconic acid, which is concentrated and converted into the final product via hydrochloric acid.
Titanium is highly corrosion-resistant in high-temperature gluconic acid. In this production process, titanium shell-and-tube heat exchangers, a titanium DHC-500 disc-type sedimentation centrifuge with automatic slag discharge, and TC4 cast impellers have been used for many years without any signs of corrosion.
3. Antibiotic Production
The primary raw material for the chemical synthesis of chloramphenicol (an antibiotic) is methyl dichloroacetate, which contains approximately 2% trichloroethylene. If steel equipment were used in the rectification process, severe corrosion would likely occur; however, since switching to titanium equipment, the equipment has remained intact to this day.
4. Anesthetic Production
Procaine hydrochloride, used as a local anesthetic, is produced from p-nitrotoluene. Throughout the entire production process-from the oxidation to produce p-nitrobenzoic acid, through acetic acid washing, mother liquor recovery-all involve highly corrosive conditions. Therefore, the production equipment incorporates inner cylinders made of titanium-steel composite plates, titanium bubblers, glacial acetic acid recirculation condensers, and gas-liquid separators, thereby resolving the corrosion issues.
5. Production of Antiparasitic Drugs and Other Pharmaceuticals
Alendazole (Tetramizole) is a highly effective anthelmintic for intestinal nematodes. Stainless steel equipment was originally used in the production of this product, but corrosion led to product contamination. The corrosion issue was successfully resolved by replacing the feed pipes and pump inlet pipes with titanium ones.
Nitrochlorophenol is a highly effective veterinary drug for treating liver flukes in cattle and sheep, produced using sulfuric acid, nitric acid, glacial acetic acid, and chlorine-containing solutions. A titanium agitator was installed in the dissolution tank and has been operating normally to this day. Additionally, activated carbon decolorization is widely used in pharmaceutical production; after replacing the stainless steel suction filter with a titanium one, it has remained in perfect working order for nine years.
In the production of brominated amino acids abroad, titanium reactors are used in the bromination, separation, salt precipitation, extraction, and distillation processes. In China, the use of titanium equipment is also necessary for the production of antimalarial drugs from quinoline derivatives, schistosomiasis drugs that interact with chloride ions, contraceptives, and rheumatism medications. Other applications, such as penicillin esterification vessels, saccharification tanks, chloramphenicol thin-film evaporators, ananin reactors, methoxyphenazone filters, dimethyl sulfate coolers, and pharmaceutical solution filters, all demonstrate both the feasibility and necessity of using titanium materials for their manufacture.
E-mail: garychen3215@hotmail.com
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Contact: Mr. Gary Chen
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