Precise dosing, reliably monitored with ValveInsight
Tiny all-rounders- Collaboration with MarbleMat
MarbleMat™ takes personalised food supplements to a new level: the spin-off from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, Czech Republic, produces small, oil-based pellets with different active ingredients that can be combined in a targeted manner. The precise dosage of the ingredients in these so-called ‘Marbles’ is of utmost importance. This is something the start-up can always rely on, thanks to Bürkert’s fast and robust Whisper Valves and precise monitoring with ValveInsight.
MarbleMat’s small Marbles are made entirely from biodegradable, food-grade materials. An inner oil-based active ingredient core is enclosed in a solid shell. The lipid-based structure of the Marbles is optimised for poorly water-soluble compounds. This improves absorption and ensures a controlled, sustained release directly into the intestine, where absorption is most effective.
It’s all about the perfect dose
The active ingredients are dosed in liquid form and fall as droplets onto a longitudinally conveyed powder bed, where they encapsulate. Top priority in production is a uniform size of the Marbles. Their diameter ranges from one to three millimetres – depending on the purpose.
“If we don’t dose the droplets in exactly the right size, we can’t use the Marbles and have to dispose them. That’s an expensive affair,” explains Ondřej Rychecký, CEO and founder of MarbleMat in Pilsen.
The process conditions are challenging: a fast dosing speed with valve opening times of six to eight milliseconds, temperatures of 60 °C to 80 °C (140 °F to 176 °F) to keep the oil fluent and a maximum volume deviation of less than three percent.
“With the robust Whisper Valves from Bürkert, we can dose the amount of active ingredient very precisely – despite high speed, increased pressure and hot temperatures.”
Wanted: process reliability
To ensure the exact size, MarbleMat wanted to monitor the dosing volume. “We couldn’t find a sensor that was able to fulfil our high temperature requirements,” recalls Ondřej Rychecký. The Pilsen-based company also encountered hurdles with the dosing valves themselves: The valve solutions they researched were unable to precisely dose such small quantities and withstand the process temperature and pressure at the same time.
With the Type 6724 Whisper Valves from Bürkert, they finally found a suitable solution that could fulfil the demanding conditions. “Bürkert provided us with 18 Whisper Valves for our production – rapidly switching, chemically extremely resistant and compact in design,” says the founder of MarbleMat happily, adding: “But the cherry on the cake was the ValveInsight algorithm: It allows us to precisely monitor the switching behaviour of all valves and directly track deviations in the switching sequence.”
“ValveInsight is a great function. It allows us to keep a constant eye on the switching behaviour of the Whisper Valves – without the need for an additional sensor! If the algorithm detects a deviation, we replace the affected valve immediately and lose neither precious time nor valuable material.”
MarbleMat had been discussing within the team for some time how Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for pharmaceutical application could be implemented. Until ValveInsight was used, they did not see any way of consistently monitoring critical process parameters. “Without valve diagnostics, it would be impossible for us to gain a foothold in the pharmaceutical industry in the future, which is our medium-term goal,” the CEO points out.
Zoltan Raduly, Application Manager Sales Lab & Analytical at Bürkert, emphasises the importance of the intelligent algorithm at MarbleMat: “Bürkert assumes that the FDA-compliant Type 6724 Whisper Valve can withstand 10 million switching cycles under laboratory conditions at temperatures of up to maximum 50 °C (122 °F). However, MarbleMat reliably operates the valves at higher temperatures, far beyond the guaranteed specifications. In order to recognise an impending failure of the valve diaphragm at an early stage, this monitoring is so important.”
Joint optimisation
The start-up carried out a risk analysis and various tests with the valves: On average, the Whisper Valves perform their service 2.5 million times despite the high temperature, before the switching behaviour begins to deviate. On this basis, the decision was made to establish the production process with the robust Type 6724 valves from Bürkert. This process was subsequently optimised hand in hand for almost two years. “The experts at the Bürkert Systemhaus provided us with enormous support in order to improve monitoring and fault detection and to make the dosing of the manifold more precise. The regular open discussions made the cooperation with Bürkert really pleasant,” says Ondřej Rychecký. MarbleMat provided the Bürkert Systemhaus with the collected data. The process was then analysed in detail and the function of the algorithm improved and validated under real production conditions. “Today, we are able to precisely adjust the size of the Marbles simply by varying pressure and opening time. The deviation is less than 3%,” says the founder happily.
Off to series production!
MarbleMat already has ideas on how to further improve the system together with Bürkert. However, Ondřej Rychecký explains that they are now taking things step by step: “We are competing with established products and processes. We have to become competitive. Our first goal is therefore to achieve consistent production and increase productivity and capacity.” In the medium term, the Marbles will also be used in the pharmaceutical industry in addition to food supplements. Thanks to Bürkert, the dosing is already precise enough.
How you benefit
Unique valve diagnostics technology: Precise monitoring of the switching behaviour of all valves without an additional sensor for immediate knowledge in the event of deviations.
Close partnership: Comprehensive process analysis and targeted improvement measures for error detection and dosing precision through close dialogue with the Bürkert Systemhaus.
Increased process reliability: Avoidance of costly consequences due to system downtime and material waste thanks to consistent dosing and early detection of deviations in switching behaviour.
Precise dosing: Extremely fast switching times for accurate dosage of small quantities of active ingredients, even under demanding conditions.
Want to learn more about our valve diagnostic features?
Read our white paper that explains the technical background of ValveInsight in more detail.
Read more about ValveInsight and its applications in laboratory equipment in our short flyer.
You can benefit from ValveInsight with these products
2/2 or 3/2-way Whisper Valve with media separation
- Highest chemical resistance
- Compact design with 8.9 mm installation width
- DN 0.8 mm (vacuum up to 5 bar) and 1.2 mm (vacuum up to 3 bar)
- Very fast, almost silent switching with < 20 dB (A) and very low power consumption
- High back-pressure tightness, excellent cleanability and 100% duty cycle
2/2 or 3/2-way Whisper Valve with media separation
- Very fast switching at a low noise level <45 dB(A)
- High pressure range up to 16 bar with nominal diameter DN 1.4 mm
- Highest chemical resistance
- Compact design with 18 mm installation width
- High back pressure tightness
2/2-way Whisper Valve with media separation
- Highest chemical resistance combined with minimum internal volume
- Compact design with 7 mm installation width
- Orifice 0.8 mm
- Switching noise < 36 dB
- For dosing applications with excellent cleanability
Here you can find out more Bürkert solutions for your industry
