Introduction on Scale Up Fine Chemicals From Lab

Introduction on Scale Up Fine Chemicals : From Lab to Plant Site By Wiratni, Ph. D Gadjah Mada University Yogyakarta - Indonesia

Evolution of chemical engineering Global trend in chemical industries Mass production Specialties/fine chemicals Focused on CONVERSION Emphasized on PROPERTIES ‘Conventional’ Chemical Engineering New view in chemical engineering: Product Engineering

Chemical industries in developing countries OPERATIO NS DESIGNERS PROCESS ENGINEERS LICENCES NET PROFIT

Flexibility for changes International chemical giants (Du. Pont, BASF, Dow) Chemical plants in developing countries Natural resources Commoditization STRONG R&D LICENSE! Specialties

Price scale Fine chemicals Crude products Raw materials Product engineerin g Chemical engineering

Position of Biotechnology Highly specific in producing particular compounds important role in fine chemical production l Characteristics: - higher level of uncertainty - decreasing performance of microorganisms l

Bioprocess Engineering Raw material (substrate) Microorganism/enzyme PURIFICATION UNITS BIOREACTOR Fermentation Broth DOWNSTREAM PROCESSING Product WASTE

Downstream processing Very costly; can take up to 70% of total investment l Very important in bioprocess as it determines the specification of product (purity, physical/chemical characteristics, etc. ) l

Example of Bioproduct Poly- -Hydroxy-Butirate (PHB): Biodegradable polymer with high biocompatibility for medical purposes l Produced intracellularly by microorganisms (e. g. Alcaligenes euthrophus), using sugar compounds as substrate l

Nature of PHB Characteristics: l. Amount of PHB accumulated l. Degree of crystallinity l. Physical/mechanical properties l. Purity VERY SENSITIVE TO PROCESS CONDITIONS

Problems l PHB is carbon storage for the microorganisms: they will accumulate it when they have plenty of food, and will consume it when they are lack of food l Must determine: When is the optimum harvesting time? ?

Problems l PHB is biodegradable, and so it is susceptible to oxidation, chlorination, etc. that may lead to decreasing molecular weight. l Must determine: What chemicals to be used in purification process? What temperature does not destructive to PHB?

Problems l If the previous questions have been answered through laboratory experiments, you may define optimum conditions (composition of substrate, temperature, p. H, etc) for PHB production. l Bigger problem: Do those optimum conditions for Erlenmeyer flask still hold for 100 L fermentor?

Menghitung kebutuhan power Power number Reynold number

Example: Making homogeneous solutions LAB SCALE (IDEAL) COMMERCIAL SCALE (NON-IDEAL)

Why studying scale-up techniques?

Producing Fine Chemicals The technology is not matured yet l Very specific for each particular product l Very costly if buy licensed technology for each product l Companies must have very strong R&D with two fold tasks: 1. developing new products 2. designing commercial units (SCALEUP) l

Scale Up in Essential Oil Production Laboratory experiment Pilot scale SCALE UP PROCESS Commercial scale

Route to Commercialization LABORATORY SCALE MATHEMATICAL MODELS VERIFICATION IN PILOT PLANT TRIAL AND ERRORS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION