(95a) Best Practices and Case Studies of Managing Process and Operational Safety in Process Development from Laboratory to Pilot

In addition to the potential impacts on health of staff and colleagues, preservation of R&D facilities and license to operate, nothing derails a new process development more quickly than a safety incident or even a “near miss” with substantial potential consequences. Managing safety risk in process development is a key cornerstone for success, and sets the standard for how process safety at the commercial scale will be managed. Challenges include the consideration of multiple routes and process chemistries, including multiple new materials (catalysts, solvents, adsorbents) whose properties may not be fully known. Extra care must be taken in design of bench and pilot facilities to accommodate unknowns, and changes in process line-ups and chemistries that will inevitably be required to identify viable and optimal commercial designs. In some cases, inherent safety risks may drive the selection of a given pathway over an alternate route with increased risk.

This presentation will cover a range of case histories in process development safety management, including the advantages of small scale testing during early screening, use of barricades to facilitate testing and redesign of oxidation processes, providing for added protection against personnel exposures, challenging existing protocols to improve safety before expanding a program with highly reactive chemistries, making correct decision in safety management despite fast-track commercial pressure. The importance of the process development engineer in leading process safety by design and by example behavior, is emphasized.