(161r) Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation Study to Resolve Mixing and Scale-up Challenges of Non-Newtonian Fluids in Pharmaceutical Industry
AIChE Annual Meeting
2021
2021 Annual Meeting
Food, Pharmaceutical & Bioengineering Division
Poster Session: Engineering Fundamentals in Life Science
Monday, November 8, 2021 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm
The first question to ask is what comprises good mixing. The judging parameters include the uniform distribution of energy with less dissipation and getting the right Critical Quality Attributes in the samples. The major challenges in mixing can be attributed to non-uniformity and unpredictability in scale-up operations. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an approach that is coming into action in the pharmaceutical industry. CFD Software (ANSYS in this example) can be leveraged to understand mixing profiles and help in analyzing the technical aspects and provide a generalized methodology for the problem.
As the complexity of molecules has increased and with process intensification, the need to develop technical solutions faster and having a standardized approach will support the entire industry to reach its goal of serving people better. This study gives a comparison of equipment based on histograms, contour plots, and vector plots for shear stress, velocity, and molecular viscosity, along with the discrete phase model to draw inferences and conclusions for non-Newtonian fluid systems. Transient simulations are used to determine the particle distribution in the mixing vessel volume being dispersed from a specified location. This helps in finding time to achieve uniformity throughout the volume. Using CFD the problem at lab scale is resolved by determining the Critical Process Parameters which in turn gives us the ability to scale-up the product in a plant to achieve desired targets.
The impact of this study can be huge, as it can contribute not only to reduce experimental work at lab scale but can also improve visibility in the scale-up plant operations. It further adds as a standardized method for such issues.