New Scale-up Technologies for Hydrogenation Reactions in Multipurpose Pharmaceutical Production Plants

Area of Science:

• Chemical Engineering
• Process Chemistry

Background:

• Traditional scale-up of hydrogenation reactions relies heavily on extensive laboratory and pilot-scale experiments.
• This conventional method is time-consuming and resource-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel scale-up strategy that integrates computational simulations with targeted scale-down experiments.
• To reduce the number of experiments required for chemical process scale-up.
• To develop a robust and user-friendly tool for reliable scale-up predictions.

Main Methods:

• Development of a chemical process model using limited laboratory data and production-scale reactor information.
• Utilizing computational simulations to explore various process parameters at production scale.
• Validation of simulations through a few experiments in a custom-designed scale-down reactor.
• Ensuring geometric similarity and comparable mass transfer in the scale-down reactor.
• Implementing a 3D-printed heating/cooling finger for precise heat transfer simulation.

Main Results:

• The proposed strategy significantly reduces the experimental workload compared to classical methods.
• Computational models enable simulation of production-scale processes under diverse conditions.
• Scale-down experiments validate simulation outcomes, ensuring accuracy.
• The custom-designed scale-down reactor effectively mimics production-scale heat and mass transfer.

Conclusions:

• This novel approach offers a more efficient and predictive method for scaling up hydrogenation processes.
• The integration of simulation and scale-down experiments provides a powerful tool for both academic research and industrial application.
• The project demonstrates successful academic-industry collaboration, funded by the Aargau Research Fund.