A Collaborative Approach to the Development of a Byproduct Removal Strategy and Successful Transfer to Pilot Plant

A new biocatalytic process was developed at Cambrex Charles City in which a volatile byproduct led to catalyst inhibition. This presentation will highlight the collaborative efforts of process chemists and engineers to develop an effective byproduct removal strategy. A subsurface sparge was an effective technique; however, it led to excessive foaming. Cambrex’s LabOS platform enabled data-rich experimentation, which provided insights into the optimal sparge conditions to balance gas dispersion and foam formation. The process was subsequently transferred to the Charles City pilot plant, where engineering batches demonstrated the sparge was effective at production scale. However, the gas capacity required to achieve the desired sparge rate for the target production scale would not have been practical. The use of vacuum was found to be crucial for achieving suitable byproduct removal while minimizing the gas capacity needed. Work is ongoing to begin a small-scale validation campaign.

Key Learning Objectives:

• How the teams at Cambrex’s facility in Charles City, Iowa, collaborated to effectively optimize processes
• How data-rich experimentation using Cambrex’s LabOS platform provided insights into developing a subsurface sparge at lab scale
• How scale-up in the pilot plant has enabled the determination of optimal process conditions for future scale and manufacturing