Forbes Marshall, the specialists in process efficiency and energy conservation, has commissioned for the first time ever in the country a fully automated test rig that can tangibly measure the quality of steam produced by a boiler in pharmaceutical industries. The special test rig uses high efficiency smoke tube boilers as against coil type boilers which produces poor quality steam as adopted in the past by many industries. The test rig is both efficient and economical for pharmaceutical production operations.

According to Dr Naushad Forbes, director, Forbes Marshall, the test rig would allow customers to have the tangible benefits offered by smoke tube boilers in a scientific and methodical manner. "With proven and documented data from pharmaceutical industries, we have observed amazing results from the used smoke tube boilers. The test rig is priced over Rs 1 crore. The company has also made significant investments in R&D to develop the product with a scientifically proven process. We believe it is the only one of its kind in the world, and is certainly unique in our country," he said.

The test rig compares a smoke tube boiler with a coil type boiler to scientifically quantify the quality of steam used in various manufacturing processes. This rig compares performance in terms of thermal efficiency, steam quality and wetness and permits research on previously unsubstantiated areas, including the effect of load variation in different boilers and the role of moisture separators in process efficiency.

For ease of operation, the test set up is fully automated. All the on/off valves are pneumatic operated, which can be actuated with the help of solenoid valves from the control panel. The boiler efficiency can be monitored online by using Forbes Marshall proprietary boiler house management software (BHMS). This software helps to get the thermal efficiency, overall efficiency, s/f ratio, cost of steam (direct cost), losses and compares the thermal performances and cost of operation.

For several decades, Forbes Marshall has provided every process industry with expertise and turnkey solutions to harness, measure and control steam, liquids and gases. An ISO 9001:2000 certified multi-divisional organization with joint ventures with world leaders; Forbes Marshall has products that cover the entire spectrum of energy generation and conservation, process automation and control. The company's three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities are located at Kasarwadi (Pune), MIDC (Pune) and Hyderabad.