Through the construction of new public hospitals and private clinics in Algeria, the local demand for medical equipment and supplies has increased. Linde Gas Algerie, a division of the Linde Group (www.linde.com), has seen a strong demand to fill, blend, and distribute chemical sterilizing gases, including ethylene oxide (EtO), to hospitals, sterilization companies, and manufacturers of medical equipment. EtO, which is highly toxic and flammable, is used in its pure form and in a blended form for cold sterilization of surgery equipments and medical textiles. To ensure a safe gas plant locally, Linde Gas Algerie worked with Chemogas (www.chemogas.com) and Filltech GmbH (www.filltech.de) to develop an automatic gas filling plant for EtO where safety and efficiency go hand in hand.

“The highly toxic and flammable gas EtO is of great importance in the sterilization of food, medical supplies and the production of pesticides. In the hospital sector, EtO is used for sterilization of surgical equipment and medical textiles. Through an increased demand for chemical sterilants, Linde Algerie noticed a need to fill, blend and distribute EtO gas cartridges locally,” says Leon Deneef, Area Sales Manager of Chemogas in Belgium.

EtO can kill all known viruses, bacteria and fungi, including bacterial spores. However, it is highly flammable, toxic, and carcinogenic, being associated mainly with an increased risk of developing leukemia. Filling, blending and distributing of EtO therefore requires a thorough know-how. Chemogas Belgium, part of the Linde Group, specializes in filling, blending, distributing, and disposing the waste of many hazardous gases, including EtO. Linde Algerie asked Chemogas to develop a safe gas filling plant for ethylene oxide that could handle the increased demand for EtO gas cartridge filling.

Filltech GmbH, which specializes in developing and building effective gas filling plants for the treatment of industrial, chemical, and medical gases, cooperated with Chemogas to develop a fully automated gas filling plant to dose, fill, and weigh the EtO cylinders without human intervention. A robust IT system ensures that filling information, dates, and responsible employees are recorded and can be traced if necessary. Finally, the filling plant ensures a vacuum removal of any residual EtO.

“The gas filling plant developed will not only increase security; also efficiency plays an important role. We are convinced the increasing demand in Algeria can be safely followed up,” says Michael Peine, CEO of Filltech GmbH.


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Filltech is a European-leading German engineering and manufacturing company, designing, developing and selling filling solutions for the gas industry and expanding rapidly on a world-wide level.