In modern high-end manufacturing, biomedicine, electronic chip and other fields, the requirements for the cleanliness of the production environment are almost extremely stringent. Tiny dust particles and microorganisms can become the "culprits" that affect product quality and lead to experimental deviations. The buffer room in the clean workshop, as a crucial "guardian" protecting the "pure land" of the clean space, is playing an indispensable and important role, and its ingenious design involves a lot of knowledge. Today, Guangzhou Kunling Purification Equipment Co., Ltd. will take you to explore the mysteries of the buffer room in clean workshops in depth.
The "Core Missions" of the Buffer Room
"Interception Net" for Dust Particles
The inside of the clean workshop maintains a strict air cleanliness level, while the outside environment is full of dust. The buffer room is set up between different cleanliness level areas or at the connection between the workshop and the external ordinary environment. Relying on the principle of static air pressure and the design of air flow organization, it constructs an invisible but powerful "interception net". When people and materials enter or exit, the entrained dust, debris and other particulate matters will encounter layers of "air flow checkpoints" in the buffer room, be guided and settled in an orderly manner, and it will be difficult for them to break into the core clean area smoothly. This greatly reduces the impact of external dust on the cleanliness of the workshop and safeguards precision production and scientific research experiments from being disrupted by tiny dust.
"Firewall" Against Microorganisms
Microbial contamination is a "serious concern" in industries such as pharmaceuticals and food processing. Once bacteria and viruses are mixed into the production process, not only may the entire batch of products be scrapped, but also the safety of users will be endangered. With the help of a high-efficiency filtration system, ultraviolet sterilization devices and strict disinfection processes, the buffer room is like a solid "firewall". It filters airborne floating bacteria and prevents attached bacteria from "smuggling" in with the clothes of personnel and the packaging of materials. Combined with regular chemical disinfection, ozone fumigation and other means, the number of microorganisms is controlled at an extremely low level, defending the aseptic and low-microbial environment in the workshop.
"Stabilizer" for Temperature, Humidity and Air Pressure
Different production processes have different requirements for temperature and humidity. For example, the welding of electronic components requires a constant temperature to prevent oxidation, and the freeze-drying of drugs requires a specific humidity to ensure the efficacy. The buffer room acts as a "transition zone". It uses air-conditioning systems and humidification and dehumidification equipment to finely adjust the temperature and humidity so that they meet the needs of the adjacent clean areas before the transition and connection. Meanwhile, it precisely controls the air pressure, maintains a reasonable positive pressure gradient between the workshop and the outside and between different cleanliness levels, ensuring that the air flows in one direction and that the unpurified air with inappropriate temperature and humidity from the outside has "no way to enter".
The "Finishing Touches" of Design
"Exquisite Conception" of Spatial Layout
The area and the ratio of length to width should be adapted to the flow of personnel and materials in the workshop. In busy workshops where large materials are frequently transferred, a spacious buffer space is needed to prevent congestion and collisions, ensuring smooth passage while avoiding air flow disturbance and dust raising caused by the gathering of personnel. The layout can be linear, L-shaped or U-shaped, which should be flexibly chosen according to the workshop's building structure and the flow direction of materials to ensure that personnel form an efficient and orderly "purification movement line" from the changing room to the workshop and materials form a similar line from the transfer window to the production line, reducing the risks of backtracking and cross-contamination.
"Scientific Arrangement" of Air Flow Organization
Top supply and bottom return or side supply and side return are common air flow forms. Top supply and bottom return, with the cooperation of gravity and rising hot air flow, can efficiently remove dust and stale air, allowing clean air to be fully replaced "from top to bottom". Side supply and side return is more friendly to long and narrow buffer rooms. The uniform air supply can "sweep" the whole room. With the cooperation of guide plates and grilles to optimize the air flow path, the air can "circulate in an orderly manner" in the room, and every corner can be "covered" by clean air, avoiding "dead corners of air flow" where pollution may breed. The air flow speed should be precisely controlled within 0.2 - 0.5 meters per second, which can not only prevent the dust from being raised due to excessive wind speed but also ensure that the air exchange efficiency meets the purification requirements.
"Careful Selection and Strict Matching" of Purification Equipment
The high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) is an essential "hard-core component". Its filtration efficiency for particulate matters of 0.3 micrometers and above is over 99.97%. Different specifications and filtration precision models should be selected according to the cleanliness level of the workshop to ensure that dust has "nowhere to hide". Ultraviolet germicidal lamps should be matched and reasonably arranged at the top and corners. They should be turned on regularly for sterilization of floating microorganisms. However, attention should be paid to the installation height and irradiation time to prevent excessive ultraviolet radiation from harming the skin and eyes of personnel. The air shower room, as a powerful "tool" for personnel purification, sprays high-speed clean air from multiple nozzles at multiple angles to strip off the dust and bacteria attached to clothes. It is advisable to design the air shower duration to be 10 - 30 seconds and the wind speed to exceed 20 meters per second.
"Quality Selection" of Decoration Materials
Smooth, seamless, corrosion-resistant, anti-static and easy-to-clean materials should be selected for walls, floors and ceilings. For example, the color steel plate walls are smooth and seamless, the epoxy self-leveling floors are wear-resistant and anti-seepage, and the aluminum gusset plates on the ceilings are convenient for disassembly and inspection. Sealant strips are used to fill the joints of doors, windows and plates. They are soft and fit tightly, eliminating air and dust leakage, and building a clean defense line from the "hardware" foundation.
Although the buffer room in the clean workshop has a limited space, it is a "key piece" for maintaining a high-cleanliness environment, which is related to product quality, enterprise benefits and industry reputation. Guangzhou Kunling Purification Equipment Co., Ltd. deeply understands this. Relying on professional design, high-quality material selection and meticulous construction, we customize efficient buffer room solutions for numerous enterprises, helping them "lead the way" in the clean production track. If you are preparing or upgrading your clean workshop, please feel free to consult us and let's build a flawless clean space together.