Chemical additives,
petrochemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals are different reacted forms and
formulations of organic (fine/specialty) and inorganic chemicals. We have
mastered their use and continue to develop new uses to make our lives easier.
We are also
familiar with or can find chemical and physical properties of the chemicals
that are used in these applications. However, many of us have not totally
understood or mastered their mutual behavior and/or how their mutual behavior
can be used/manipulated/modified/exploited to simplify processes, especially
the reactive processes. To some extent it is an art that can significantly
improve profitability.
Simpler processes
streamline manufacturing. They are sustainable and assist in many other ways
e.g. lower costs, higher profit, improve supply chain, give competitive edge
through better product quality.
We have to ask
ourselves a question “are we exploiting physical and chemical properties to
their fullest extent?” If we are not, then the question is why not? Answer is
very simple, at least to me. Values and virtues of physical and chemical are
taught. However, we generally are not taught how to exploit them. I learnt from
my mentors and colleagues. Shortcomings have been discussed in the past (1,2,3,4)
and in many other publications. If we can understand and manipulate their
mutual social behavior “sociochemicology” we should be able
to create, design and simplify many of the reactive or formulation processes.
Collectively fault
lies with us. Why? When developing a new process we don’t have the time to
exploit these properties.
Opportunities are
tremendous, however, getting from studying to practicing may not be the
simplest. We do practice what we are taught, but not to the extent we could.
Traditions also come in the way of exploitation. Most of the time textbook
methods and laboratory practices are followed.
Everything has to
be done yesterday and the pressure to have the process ready to be scaled up
day before yesterday is omnipresent. With such constraints even the best,
creative and imaginative chemists and chemical engineers can falter. Processes
are commercialized and they may not be the most optimum. Generally such
processes are accepted in the chemical industry. Continuous improvement
opportunities allow us to better these processes. However, there are applications
where commercializing a perfect process that has very stringent tolerances and
meet certain regulatory needs are a must. Electronic chemicals and
pharmaceuticals fit the higher tolerance regimen with pharmaceuticals due to
regulations being even more demanding. Second chances in these areas can cost
significant time and money.
Process Development Opportunities:
Process development
is done in the laboratory and at times circumstances are not helpful to think
BIG. By BIG, I mean how we will deal with commercial quantities of raw
materials and intermediates. Our “Imagineering” falters somewhere when we are
scaling up from the lab to a commercial process. We pay a price via higher
product cost and at times with lack of first time product quality because we
have not spent the time needed to create an efficient economic process.
Exploitation and
imagineering of physical and chemical properties of the chemicals to create an
economic process can be an art which depends on “eye of the designer”. Individual
imprints come from our experiences and understanding of unit processes and unit
operations.
I have used one of
the physical properties as an example to illustrate how we can master/exploit
sociochemicalogy to create and commercialize excellent and sustainable
processes.
Liquids are Developer’s Best Friend:
Every chemical
comes in its natural state in one of the three forms: gas, solid and liquid.
At room temperature
gas cannot be held in hand where as solid and liquid can be handled. When it
comes to handling gases in the lab they are a challenge. Liquefied gas handling
has use constraints in the lab. They can be a challenge in plants also. Special
equipment would be needed if liquefied gas were to be handled. Since many labs
are not equipped, gases are dissolved in a liquid and used in process
development. Use of ammonia as ammonium hydroxide is an example. Process
productivity can be lost when dilute gas solutions are used. Commercial
handling of liquefied gases requires special attention and is product volume dependent.
In laboratory,
solids are generally dissolved in appropriate solvent and used as a dissolved
solution. Depending on solubility at room temperature process productivity can
be significantly impacted. On commercial scale if the solid raw material can be
used as a melt, it would be ideal, as the process will have high productivity.
Again process economics and product demand come into play.
Raw materials,
reaction intermediates and products as liquid are easiest to handle. Our
ability to recognize the differences in density, mutual solubility, boiling
point differences and other physical properties and exploit them to our
advantage generally results in an economic and sustainable process (4,5,6).
Exploitation of physical and chemical properties is not a cookie cutter
exercise but is more like a precision surgery for each process, especially for
the reactive processes.
There are many
chemical reactions that can be commercially done in all liquid phase when the
raw materials are solid or gas at room temperature. With sufficient residence
time and using fundamental of chemistry and chemical engineering the produced
product can be purified to produce global needs from a single plant. Latent
advantages of such processes are very high productivity with minimal use of
diluting solvents that are necessary in conventional processes. One has to imagine,
explore and look. As explained earlier reason and rational for not looking in
the lab is that we do not have the necessary equipment to explore such
reactions. Many times such opportunities are never explored even after
commercial success of such products.
Many books can be
written about how sociochemicology of the chemicals can be used and improved
to commercial advantage. It is best that such methods be left to the
imagination of chemists and chemical engineers. Given a chance they are extremely
creative, imaginative and resourceful and the results would magnificent.
Girish Malhotra, PE
EPCOT International
- Malhotra, Girish: A Radical Approach to Fine/Specialty API Manufacturing, Profitability Through Simplicity January 20, 2010
- Malhotra, Girish: Focus on Physical Properties To Improve Processes: Chemical Engineering, Vol. 119 No. 4 April 2012, pgs 63-66
- Malhotra, Girish: Industry 4.0 (Digitization): Its Benefits to Pharma and Other Chemical Industries, Profitability through Simplicity, November 11, 2016
- Malhotra, Girish: Chemical Process Simplification: Improving Productivity and Sustainability, ISBN: 978-0-470-48754-9, January 2011, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- US patents: 3,928,457; 4,945,184; 5,004,839; 3,564,001; 4,363,914
- McCabe, W. L. and Smith, J.C. Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1956; 40
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