(545a) Development and Commissioning of a Modular and Integrated Apparatus for the Quasi-Continuous Production of Crystalline Particles

In almost every industrial sector, companies are faced with constantly changing challenges. In the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, these range from increasing global competition to existing but not exhausted resource and energy saving potentials, growing market volatility, short product life cycles as well as rising quality demands and the desire for individual products in small quantities [1–3]. To meet the challenges successfully and thus ensure the long-term success of the company, innovative solutions are required. In addition to a modular and small-scale design, these include converting batch wise operation into its continuous form, increasing the degree of automation and the integration of different process steps into a single process apparatus [4,5].

Taking these aspects into account, a novel plant concept for quasi-continuous particle synthesis and separation has been developed. A high degree of automation and the combination of different process steps (cooling crystallization, solid-liquid separation and contact drying) in one plant ensure significant energy and resource savings. Furthermore, an intelligent control system in combination with innovative measurement technology enables the targeted adjustment of particle properties and an increase in product quality and quantity.

The basis of the apparatus is a belt filter in which the vacuum trays below the filter medium are replaced by functional units. While there are temperature control units in the areas of crystallization and drying, filtration segments are installed in the solid-liquid separation section. The individual functional units can be arranged in any order, which in turn ensures a high degree of plant flexibility and makes it possible to adapt quickly to new material systems or changing customer requirements. The process chamber in which particle production takes place is located above the filter medium and passes through the process chain from left to right. Figure 1 shows the described apparatus concept schematically.

In addition to the development, the focus is on the commissioning of the plant. Thereby, the crystallization and filtration tests carried out with the model system sucrose prove the general functionality of the plant. The experiments demonstrate that the process parameters influence the properties of the produced particles. In this context, it is shown that the temperature profile during the cooling process influences both the particle size and the distribution width, and that larger crystals are formed as a result of a higher residence time in the crystallization zone. It is also found that the crystallization step slightly increases the resistance of the filter media. Compared to the overall resistance, however, this increase is marginal, which means that negative consequences for the overall process are not to be assumed.

In the course of the presentation, the basic apparatus concept and its technical implementation as well as the results of experimental considerations will be presented.

Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for the financial support within the ENPRO initiative (support code: 03ET1652E).

References:

[1] Lier, S.; Wörsdörfer, D.; Grünewald, M. Wandlungsfähige Produktionskonzepte: Flexibel, Mobil, Dezentral, Modular, Beschleunigt. Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 2015, 87, 1147–1158. 342

[2] Lier, S.; Paul, S.; Ferdinand, D.; Grünewald, M. Modulare Verfahrenstechnik: Apparateentwicklung für wandlungsfähige Produktionssysteme. Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 2016, 88, 1444–1454.

[3] Bieringer, T.; Buchholz, S.; Kockmann, N. Future Production Concepts in the Chemical Industry: Modular - Small-Scale - Continuous. Chem. Eng. Technol., 2013, 36, 900–910.

[4] Fleischer-Trebes, C.; Krasberg, N.; Bramsiepe, C.; Kockmann, N. Planungsansatz für modulare Anlagen in der chemischen Industrie. Chemie Ingenieur Technik, 2017, 89, 785–799.

[5] Löbnitz, L. Auslegung des Separationsprozesses und Entwicklung neuer Verfahrenskonzepte zur integrierten Produktion und Separation kristalliner Aminosäuren, 2020.