Récupération de chaleur des échappements pharmaceutiques et de salles blanches

Pharmaceutical plants and cleanrooms move huge volumes of HEPA-filtered air. Codes generally forbid recirculating exhaust that may carry contaminants, but the energy in that air can still be recovered using physically separated exchangers.

Why Separation Is Mandatory

• GMP and HVAC codes require exhaust from containment areas to be discharged, not reused.
• Cross-contamination could compromise product quality.
• Separated cores transfer only heat, never air or particles.

Recommended Technologies

Technology	Fit for pharma/cleanroom
Plate (counter-flow)	Excellent – zero carryover, washable
Caloduc	Excellent – no moving parts, isolated streams
Boucle à pompe de circulation	Good when exhaust is remote from supply
Rotary wheel	Avoid – carryover risk despite purge

Integration Points

• Recover heat from general AHU exhaust, not containment exhaust.
• Pre-heat or pre-cool make-up air for gowning and support zones.
• Use stainless or coated cores where cleaning agents are present.
• Validate with the qualified person (QP) before commissioning.

In pharma and cleanroom duty, recovery must respect the air-handling hierarchy. Recover only from general or support-zone exhaust, never from containment or hazardous streams, and keep the recovery core outside the classified envelope so classifications are unchanged. Preserve the pressure cascade: the make-up air pre-conditioned by recovery still passes through the normal HEPA and control sequence. Specify hygienic materials and cleanable cores where cleaning agents or sporicides are present, and document the design for validation. Involve the qualified person before commissioning so the recovery is accepted as part of the qualified system. Our plate and heat-pipe cores keep streams fully separated for this duty.

Questions fréquemment posées

Can I recover heat from a containment booth?
Only the sensible heat via a separated core on the general exhaust; the contaminated stream itself stays one-way.

Does recovery affect classification?
No, if the recovery core sits outside the classified zone and keeps streams separate per design.

Questions fréquemment posées

Can I recover heat from a containment booth?

Only the sensible heat via a separated core on the general exhaust; the contaminated stream itself stays one-way.

Does recovery affect classification?

No, if the recovery core sits outside the classified zone and keeps streams separate per design.