Batch Technology Research Articles

НАУКОВО-МЕТОДИЧНІ ЗАСАДИ РЕСТРУКТУРИЗАЦІЇ ВИРОБНИЧОГО ПРОЦЕСУ

Batch production is typical for engineering enterprises connected with aeronautical engineering manufacturing. One of its main problems is the need to periodically change the production pattern which arises as a result of the instability of the products range, changes in volume of series, moral and physical wear of technological equipment. Such a change is carried out in the course of reconstruction and technical re-equipment in order to improve the efficiency of material flows.The main characteristics of material flows are determined by a spatial component of a flexible manufacturing system pattern, set by the machine tools laying according to the organization of batch process. The bulk of the cost of final product manufacturing is associated with the arrangement of material flows. In order to reduce the total costs it is necessary to improve the pattern of production by establishing a technology-oriented machine tools laying. In this case, there is a need to develop scientific and methodological basis of restructuring the manufacturing process.One of the most effective approaches to the design of machine building plants with a batch type of manufacturing is the use of program-target method based on the methodology of choosing the best technological solutions.Modern methodology of batch technologies design is based on the system approach to the analysis and synthesis of the basic structure of the manufacturing processes, which allows to apply mathematical simulation.The orientation of each of the sites on the end result leads to a substantial reduction of manufacturing costs, which significantly simplifies solving problems of division and coordination of labor on the principles of self-organization and self-regulation.The proposed mathematical model of manufacturing costs optimization is designed in accordance with all the aforementioned principles. The problem being solved is multiobjective. That is why the mathematical model has several goal functions them requiring finding peak values and some of them requiring finding the bottom values.The model can be applied in organizing the aeronautical engineering manufacturing, which requires effective remounting during the change of product range thus ensuring the required flexibility of manufacturing.

Комплексная утилизация лигносодержащих древесных отходов

The recycling of wood processing waste generated at pulp and paper and woodworking enterprises by reusing it in obtaining a high-yield semi-finished product for the production of paper and cardboard has been studied. The economic and environmental feasibility of wood waste recovery is beyond doubt. The aim has been to develop technology and modes for recycling wood waste from the production of high-yield pulp (birch sawdust) and woodworking (coniferous and the mix of coniferous and deciduous chips). In the course of the study, high-yield pulp has been obtained from birch sawdust using continuous technology (at Perm Pulp and Paper Company) and batch technology (at most pulp and paper industry enterprises). Cooking of wood chips has been carried out only using batch technology. It is shown that the recycling of birch sawdust to produce a fibrous semi-finished product for use in the production of paper and cardboard solves an important economic problem of the pulp and paper industry, which is the need to reduce the consumption of pulpwood and preserve forest resources. The process of recycling wood waste does not require changes to current technology. This produces high-yield pulp, which in terms of quality is not inferior to a similar semi-finished product made from birch technological chips and meets the enterprise standards. It has been revealed that wood chips from coniferous and deciduous wood from woodworking enterprises can also be used as a raw material for the production of high-yield pulp, but only together with sawdust from birch wood. High-yield pulp from the chips of coniferous and the mix of coniferous and deciduous wood is obtained with increased yield, but with low mechanical strength, since the neutral-sulfite method is intended for the production of a fibrous semi-finished product only from deciduous wood; coniferous wood is not boiled using this method. High-yield pulp with quality indicators corresponding to the enterprise standards from technological chips is produced by the ratios of chips and sawdust of 50:50 and 70:30. The yield of the semi-finished product from the raw materials of all used compositions is high – 75…82 %. Tests of high-yield pulp obtained from birch sawdust have shown that the fibrous semi-finished product can replace 20 % of the MS-5B waste paper mass in production in the production of paper and cardboard compositions.

Open-Source 3D Printed Reactors for Reproducible Batch and Continuous-Flow Photon-Induced Chemistry: Design and Characterization

In both batch and continuous-flow reactor technology, reproducibility can be challenging for photochemical processes due to setup variability. One major contributor to this issue is the lack of standardized reactor...

Optimal design and operation of reactive extrusion processes: Application to the production and scale‐up of polyurethane rheology modifiers for paints

AbstractIn this work, the methodology for the optimal design, operation and scale‐up of reactive extrusion processes in twin‐screw extruders previously presented in Reference (Cegla and Engell, 2023). is applied to the production of hydrophobically ethoxylated urethanes (HEURs). The new process is a promising alternative to the current batch technology in large reactors with long residence times. We demonstrate the use of model‐based design and scale‐up for this case. A novel mechanistic finite volume twin‐screw extruder model is used as the process model, which is adapted to the process at hand by embedding a detailed description of the HEUR chemistry and rheology. An economic cost function is used to examine the scale‐up process from an 18 mm extruder to a 27 and 75 mm extruders, considering a selected range of products. The comparison between the optimization results obtained for the individual products with the optimization results for the production of multiple material grades using the same screw setup shows the high flexibility of the extruder‐based process. Significant energy savings compared with the conventional batch process can be achieved using reactive extrusion. To quantify the effort for the transition to a purely continuous production in terms of flexibility and process logistics, product changeovers are investigated.Highlights Intensification of the HEUR production by reactive extrusion. Detailed model for the twin‐screw extruder and the chemistry. Optimization of extruder, screw design, and operating conditions. Model‐based scale‐up from laboratory to industrial scale. Investigation of flexible industrial production of different HEURs.

Kinetic studies of solid foam catalysts for the production of sugar alcohols: Xylitol from biomass resources

Structured catalysts, such as solid foams, represent a very promising technology for continuous and stable production of high-value compounds derived from biomass, traditionally produced with batch and semibatch technologies using suspended catalysts. However, the synthesis of structured catalysts presents additional challenges related to their structure and the generation of porous coatings with suitable properties for dispersing the catalytically active phase on the support.This work was focused on synthesizing a Ru/C solid foam catalyst and investigating its activity in the selective hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol under different operational conditions. The carbon coating, the key step of preparation, was based on the formation and pyrolysis of poly(furfuryl alcohol) in the presence of different amounts of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG; M = 8 kDa) as a pore former, which enabled tuning the support porosity. Thus, the catalyst prepared with 5 wt% PEG presented a micro-to-mesopores volume ratio of 1, and a good dispersion of Ru nanoparticles, as well as a better stability compared to the catalyst prepared without PEG.The extensive kinetic data collected in this work were mathematically modelled using three different approaches to elucidate the reactant adsorption mode: a non-competitive adsorption model, a non-competitive adsorption model considering the effect of temperature, and a semi-competitive adsorption model. The non-competitive temperature-dependent model displayed better performance in terms of fitting and reliability of the estimated parameters and predicted the adsorption of xylose as an endothermic process. On the other hand, the semi-competitive model gave similar results in terms of fitting and a value for the competitiveness factor of 0.74, which matches the hypothesis that the larger molecules, sugars, can occupy most of the active sites, while some interstitial sites remain accessible for hydrogen adsorption. The modelling results revealed a complex mode of sugar adsorption on the catalyst surface. This modelling concept can be applied to any system in which the molecule sizes are very different.

Evaluation of the features of the methodology for substantiating the operational and design parameters of the harvester conveyor, which works according to the batch method

The article discusses the methods of harvesting grain crops. The emphasis is placed on a separate method involving the use of roller harvesters. A variant of a roller harvester operating by batch technology is considered. The standard methodology of substantiation of optimal parameters and modes of operation of the harvester conveyor is analyzed. As a result, it was found that such a technique is not suitable for establishing the appropriate indicators of the conveyor of the batch header due to its technical and technological features. A particular technique for determining the optimal modes and parameters of the conveyor of a batch harvester is proposed and justified, taking into account its design and technological features and the possibility of minimizing grain losses, and in conclusion the results of its application are presented.

Innovations and trends in the coconut agroindustry supply chain: A technological surveillance and foresight analysis

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) is a raw material that has gained particular relevance for agribusiness in recent years. This has come about largely owing to the paradigm shift regarding its genuine nutritional benefits. It is especially due to innovation that has been incorporated into agro-industrial processing and the development of new products, and the fruits of such labor can be seen in the growing demand by consumers around the world. Integrally making full use of coconut, it turns out, is extremely important for agribusiness. Coconut indeed has become a benchmark, not only from the environmental dimension but also from the social and economic perspectives both of the communities that plant it and the agribusinesses that transform it. This study aims to identify technologies, new uses, trends, and innovations related to the coconut agro-industrial chain, as well as their prioritization, by means of a prospective study, using the Delphi method in two rounds. Two methods applied at the methodological level comprised a technological surveillance study by means of a literature review in a SCOPUS database, PatentsInspiration, complemented with commercial surveillance for the four major topics of plastic wood, coconut oil extraction, high salinity and moisture, and small-scale coconut by-products. Moreover, the Delphi method was used, in two rounds, with 178 topics, technologies, and innovations, classified into seven thematic groups. The Delphi was answered by 32 experts in the two rounds. Vantage Point text mining software was also applied for the analysis of the surveillance results. Within the seven thematic groups, the following 10 priority technologies are highlighted: functional phytochemicals, non-caloric sweeteners, coconut milk preservation technologies, water activity and shelf life, coconut sugar extraction methods, batch and continuous drying technologies, lyophilization, coconut fiber and shredded recycled PET, magnetic particle modification of activated carbon derived from coconut shell and biochar to effectively remove phenol from water, and biodegradable packaging for coconut derivatives. In addition, the following topics were prioritized in the sustainability grouper: sustainable agriculture, bioeconomy, family agriculture, and circular economy.

Continuous, efficient and safe synthesis of 1-oxa-2-azaspiro [2.5] octane in a microreaction system

1-Oxa-2-azaspiro [2.5] octane, as one of N-H oxaziridines, is a selective electrophilic aminating agent for N-, S-, C-, and O-nucleophiles. It has the features of stereoselectivity and the absence of formation of strongly acidic or basic byproducts, leading to considerable interest in the development of organic synthetic methods. Currently, the economically feasible route of production of 1-oxa-2-azaspiro [2.5] octane is the reaction of cyclohexanone with ammonia and sodium hypochlorite. However, due to strong exothermic reactions, massive gas release and heterogeneous reaction, the controllability, efficiency and safety of the reaction are in great difficulty using batch technology. In this paper, a microreaction system containing predispersion, reaction and phase separation was introduced into the preparation of 1-oxa-2-azaspiro [2.5] octane. The research results showed that precise control of the process including droplet dispersion, temperature control, reaction time control and fast continuous phase separation, was the key to process intensification. Under optimal conditions, the concentration of 1-oxa-2-azaspiro [2.5] octane in product obtained by microreaciton system (∼2.0 mol·L−1) was much higher than that obtained by batch technology (0.2–0.4 mol·L−1), which demonstrated that the continuous-flow synthesis would be a more efficient substitute for batch synthesis. Meanwhile, the results of the derivation experiments also showed that the aminating agent solution with higher concentration was more advantageous in the applications.

Numerical Studies of Batch and Inline High Shear Melt Conditioning Technology Using Different Rotors

When casting aluminum alloy billets, high shear melt conditioning (HSMC) technology refines the resulting grain size, reduces the number of defects, and improves mechanical properties without the need to add polluting and expensive chemical grain refiners. These resultant improvements spring from the high shear rates that develop in the rotor–stator gap and the stator holes facing the leading edge of the rotor. Despite the growing literature on rotor–stator mixing, it is unclear how the different rotor–stator parameters affect the performance of high shear treatment. To upscale this technology and apply it to processes that involve large melt volumes, an understanding of the performance of the rotor–stator design is crucial. In this paper, we present the results of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies of high shear melt conditioning in continuous and batch modes with different rotor designs. These studies build upon our earlier work by studying the effect of rotor variation in a stator design consisting of rows of small apertures at different rotor speeds spanning from 1000 to 10,000 revolutions per minute. While no clear-cut linear pattern emerges for the rotor performance (as a function of the design parameters), the rotor geometry is found to affect the distributive mixing of microparticles, but it is insignificant with regards to their disintegration.

The pre-concept design of the DEMO tritium, matter injection and vacuum systems

In the Pre-Concept Design Phase of EU-DEMO, the work package TFV (Tritium – Matter Injection – Vacuum) has developed a tritium self-sufficient three-loop fuel cycle architecture. Driven by the need to reduce the tritium inventory in the systems to an absolute minimum, this requires the continual recirculation of gases in loops without storage, avoiding hold-ups of tritium in each process stage by giving preference to continuous over batch technologies, and immediate use of tritium extracted from tritium breeding blankets. In order to achieve this goal, a number of novel concepts and technologies had to be found and their principal feasibility to be shown.This paper starts from a functional analysis of the fuel cycle and introduces the results of a technology survey and ranking exercise which provided the prime technology candidates for all system blocks. The main boundary conditions for the TFV systems are described based on which the fuel cycle architecture was developed and the required operational windows of all subsystems were defined. To validate this, various R&D lines were established, selected results of which are reported, together with the key technology developments. Finally, an outlook towards the Concept Design Phase is given.

A Comparative Investment Analysis of Batch Versus Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technologies.

PurposeThis study examines the risks and economics associated with investing in continuous (CM) versus conventional batch manufacturing for production of oral solid dosage pharmaceutical (OSD) products in the USA and abroad.MethodsA stochastic net present value (NPV) simulation of brand and generic manufacturing for new facilities is conducted comparing batch and continuous manufacturing processes leveraging actual industry financial revenue and cost information, and detailed engineering cost information of batch and CM manufacturing processes from a seminal manufacturing cost analysis of these two technologies.ResultsWhen looking at comparing investment in either CM or batch for a new U.S. facility, the results clearly suggest that the lower costs associated with CM technology should lead to both brand and generic companies investing in the more CM manufacturing technology. The simulation analysis demonstrated that under current U.S. tax rates, investing in batch technology at U.S. sites would be economically more attractive than investing in batch technology in China or India. Investing in CM technology in the USA under current tax rates results in positive expected net NPVs over batch technology investments in China or India for both brand and generic companies. U.S. tax policy has a material impact on whether pharmaceutical companies would decide to invest on the USA or not for their manufacturing.ConclusionsResults indicate that continuous manufacturing has the potential to make manufacturing of OSD pharmaceuticals more economically attractive in the USA than foreign manufacturing of those products.

Taming photocatalysis in flow: easy and speedy preparation of α-aminoamide derivatives

The benefits of using photoflow technology for the synthesis of α-aminoamides with elevated complexity compared to classic batch technology are described. Higher yields, no purification steps, and the opportunity of easy scalability are featured.

Preparation of Acyclovir-Containing Solid Foam by Ultrasonic Batch Technology.

In recent years, the application of solid foams has become widespread. Solid foams are not only used in the aerospace field but also in everyday life. Although foams are promising dosage forms in the pharmaceutical industry, their usage is not prevalent due to decreased stability of the solid foam structure. These special dosage forms can result in increased bioavailability of drugs. Low-density floating formulations can also increase the gastric residence time of drugs; therefore, drug release will be sustained. Our aim was to produce a stable floating formula by foaming. Matrix components, PEG 4000 and stearic acid type 50, were selected with the criteria of low gastric irritation, a melting range below 70 °C, and well-known use in oral drug formulations. This matrix was melted at 54 °C in order to produce a dispersion of active substance and was foamed by different gases at atmospheric pressure using an ultrasonic homogenizer. The density of the molded solid foam was studied by the pycnometer method, and its structure was investigated by SEM and micro-CT. The prolonged drug release and mucoadhesive properties were proved in a pH 1.2 buffer. According to our experiments, a stable foam could be produced by rapid homogenization (less than 1 min) without any surfactant material.

Rapid Optimization of Photoredox Reactions for Continuous-Flow Systems Using Microscale Batch Technology.

Photoredox catalysis has emerged as a powerful and versatile platform for the synthesis of complex molecules. While photocatalysis is already broadly used in small-scale batch chemistry across the pharmaceutical sector, recent efforts have focused on performing these transformations in process chemistry due to the inherent challenges of batch photocatalysis on scale. However, translating optimized batch conditions to flow setups is challenging, and a general approach that is rapid, convenient, and inexpensive remains largely elusive. Herein, we report the development of a new approach that uses a microscale high-throughput experimentation (HTE) platform to identify optimal reaction conditions that can be directly translated to flow systems. A key design point is to simulate the flow-vessel pathway within a microscale reaction plate, which enables the rapid identification of optimal flow reaction conditions using only a small number of simultaneous experiments. This approach has been validated against a range of widely used photoredox reactions and, importantly, was found to translate accurately to several commercial flow reactors. We expect that the generality and operational efficiency of this new HTE approach to photocatalysis will allow rapid identification of numerous flow protocols for scale.

Multi-Criteria Assessment of Continuous Manufacturing Reactor Technologies in Upstream Pharmaceutical Supply Chains

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities in upstream pharmaceutical supply chains (PSC) associated with the manufacture of essential active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The need to develop health countermeasures provided new impetus to supporting advanced manufacturing technologies such as process intensification through continuous manufacturing (CM). Recent advanced manufacturing developments suggest potential advantages in adopting CM over traditional batch technologies. However, at an early stage of evaluation detailed quantitative information is limited, and selecting specific reactor technologies based on multiple, conflicting criteria is challenging. To address these early-stage manufacturing technology selection challenges, this paper applies an Analytical Hierarchy Process approach, integrating multiple managerial and engineering criteria. The analysis focuses on reactor technologies in upstream PSC manufacturing. Findings suggest that microreactor technologies outperform alternatives all things considered. However, PSC managerial considerations introduce nuances in specific therapeutic areas e.g., antivirals where a tension between complex chemistry and the need for flexibility in unit operations may favour batch manufacturing. For analgesics the need to exploit the existing manufacturing base whilst addressing inventory reduction favour technologies that incorporate elements of batch and CM. Research enriches previous conceptual frameworks predicated on volume-variety considerations, providing an empirical workflow for the multi-faceted evaluation of alternative CM reactor technologies in PSC.

Progress in Reaction Mechanisms and Reactor Technologies for Thermochemical Recycling of Poly(methyl methacrylate)

Chemical or feedstock recycling of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by thermal degradation is an important societal challenge to enable polymer circularity. The annual PMMA world production capacity is over 2.4 × 106 tons, but currently only 3.0 × 104 tons are collected and recycled in Europe each year. Despite the rather simple chemical structure of MMA, a debate still exists on the possible PMMA degradation mechanisms and only basic batch and continuous reactor technologies have been developed, without significant knowledge of the decomposition chemistry or the multiphase nature of the reaction mixture. It is demonstrated in this review that it is essential to link PMMA thermochemical recycling with the PMMA synthesis as certain structural defects from the synthesis step are affecting the nature and relevance of the subsequent degradation reaction mechanisms. Here, random fission plays a key role, specifically for PMMA made by anionic polymerization. It is further highlighted that kinetic modeling tools are useful to further unravel the dominant PMMA degradation mechanisms. A novel distinction is made between global conversion or average chain length models, on the one hand, and elementary reaction step-based models on the other hand. It is put forward that only by the dedicated development of the latter models, the temporal evolution of degradation product spectra under specific chemical recycling conditions will become possible, making reactor design no longer an art but a science.

Development and Production of an Enantioselective Tetrahydroisoquinoline Synthesis Enabled by Continuous Cryogenic Lithium–Halogen Exchange

Route invention, process development, and production of 185 kg of a key tetrahydroisoquinoline intermediate for the dopamine D1 receptor positive allosteric modulator mevidalen are reported. The synthesis leveraged widely commercially available chiral starting materials to build a challenging 1,3-trans-tetrahydroisoquinoline. Two cryogenic lithiations were used to forge C–C bonds, and the heterocycle was formed by an intramolecular nucleophilic displacement. Because of a significant exotherm and instability of the aryllithium intermediate, one lithiation was shown to be scalable only in continuous flow mode. The processes were scaled up using a combination of batch and flow technologies, and the challenges that were encountered during production are described. After the successful pilot-plant campaign, the new route was analyzed from several perspectives to guide future development.

Comparison of anaerobic digestion technologies: An Italian case study

The present study focused on a comparison of two technologies applied in the mesophilic anaerobic digestion, namely a conventional wet one and a dry batch one. The considered substrate was the source sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste (SS-OFMSW) and the input flow rate, for the study case, was 35,000 Mg/year. The analysed systems included the pre-treatment of the SS-OFMSW, anaerobic digestion, upgrading of biogas to biomethane and aerobic post-treatment for the purpose of obtaining compost. The comparison was made by the calculation of three indicators: net present value, total primary energy and CO2 equivalent emissions, with the aim of providing elements for choosing the most appropriate technology for the specific case. The results obtained demonstrated the finding of worse values by the total primary energy indicator for the dry batch technology, providing a saving of approx. 21% lower compared to the wet one. In terms of CO2 equivalent emissions, the dry batch anaerobic digestion technology provided a better indicator than the wet anaerobic digestion system. Sensitivity analysis revealed the finding of an opposite result only when high specific gas production values were assumed for wet anaerobic digestion, and low specific gas production values for the dry batch technology.From an economic perspective, the results indicated a preference for the dry batch technology due to a higher net present value and a shorter period of return of the investment. This finding was also confirmed by a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, showing how the dry batch system featured a 90% of possibility of achieving a higher economically sustainability versus the wet technology.

A circular microreaction method to the safe and efficient synthesis of 3-methylpyridine-N-oxide

3-Methylpyridine-N-oxide is an essential intermediate in the preparation of 2-chloro-5-methylpyridine, which can be used to synthesize nicotine insecticides such as imidacloprid and acetamiprid. The traditional method of production of 3-methylpyridine-N-oxide is catalytic oxidation of 3-methylpyridine in semi-batch reactors. Due to strong exothermic reaction and explosive property of 3-methylpyridine, the reaction efficiency and safety is low using batch technology. Therefore, the development of a safer and efficient 3-methylpyridine-N-oxide production process is very necessary in industrial production. In this paper, microreaction systems were introduced into the preparation of 3-methylpyridine-N-oxide. The comparison of three different methods (traditional semi-batch method, co-current microreaction method, and circular microreaction method) showed that the circular microreaction method was the most applicable, with relative higher product yield (~ 90%), less side reaction and better reaction control.

Leveraging Integrated Continuous Manufacturing to Address Critical Issues in the U.S. Military

There is a tremendous opportunity to modernize the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry-relinquishing outdated machines that have been used for decades, and replacing them with state-of-the-art equipment that reflect more contemporary advanced technologies. This article describes how the implementation of continuous manufacturing, replacing outdated batch systems, can positively impact our health care sector. Important benefits will include the creation of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing jobs in the United States, the establishment of capabilities and capacity to quickly produce drugs critical to U.S. citizens, the reduction of health care costs through more efficient manufacturing, and access to better quality drugs through more sophisticated and reliable production processes. Furthermore, the application of continuous manufacturing will enable the U.S. Government, in partnership with pharmaceutical companies, to address current issues such as drug shortages, national emergencies (eg, natural disasters or chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear threats), the Strategic National Stockpile (ie, improving response time and reducing maintenance costs), and the delivery of critical drugs to distant geographies (eg, forward military bases). The article also provides a detailed example of a critical aspect of continuous manufacturing: the ability to overcome technical challenges encountered by batch technologies.