Fees
- The course fee is £1195
- Refreshments & lunch each day
- Dinner on Wednesday 15 October 2008
- The comprehensive course manual
General Information
The course will begin with registration from 8.30am on Wednesday 15 October and ends at approximately 3pm on Friday 17 October.
Bridging the Gap Between Lab and Plant
15 - 17 October 2008, Florence, Italy
A 3 day course given by Professor John Atherton
Introduction
Process development tends to be ‘recipe’ based, and in the inevitable rush to develop a process the science tends to get ignored. This series of modules deals with an area at the interface between organic chemistry and chemical engineering. It seeks to provide an awareness of the physicochemical principles that underpin process development in the fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals area.
Throughout the course numerous real examples are presented. Numerous short worked examples are designed to reinforce understanding. There is extensive use of video examples to illustrate the principles involved in fluid-fluid mixing and dispersion, fluid-solid dispersion, and phase separation in fluid-fluid systems.
Statistical Design techniques are a frequently used tool in process development. Proper use of the techniques requires an understanding of the physicochemical concepts underlying process development. This course is therefore seen as complementary to a statistical design approach..
Course Outline
- DAY ONE
- DAY TWO
- DAY THREE
From recipe to process design –
w0hat information is needed?
Principles of process development. How to assess minimum data requirements, especially in complex reaction systems. How to get more useful data from your experiments.
A refresher in reaction kinetics.
Understanding reaction kinetics can be very useful and doesn’t have to be difficult. Some worked examples should demonstrate this.
Pre-reaction equilibria.
Equilibria involving protonation or deprotonation of reactants are common and can a have an enormous effect on reaction rates. This module explains the principles involved, and sets the scene for later modules.
Phase equilibria and species distribution
in reaction and workup.
Many reactions and most work-up processes involve more than one phase. Simple partitioning and partitioning coupled to ionisation processes in one phase are presented. The relevance to phase-transfer catalysis is discussed. Ternary phase diagrams are introduced.
Competing reactions
Understanding competing reactions is key to understanding process yield (selectivity). This module considers the way in which selectivity can be influenced by pre-reaction equilibria. Simple methods for optimising reaction pH in aqueous systems are described.
Solvent effects on reaction rates
and selectivity
This module seeks to introduce the fundamental science behind solvent selection, and to apply these principles to practical problems.
Mixing effects on reactivity in
pseudo-homogeneous systems
An introduction to mixing in single phase systems. Agitators and baffles. Explains why the selectivity in some reactions in single-phase systems can be sensitive to the mixing procedures used, and shows how to mitigate these effects. Videos illustrate the principles.
Dispersion and mixing in two-phase systems
Explains the principles behind mixing and separation in two-phase systems, and illustrates good laboratory and scale-up practice. Discusses phase continuity and phase separation. Shows how to ensure that your washes actually separate!
Chemistry in multiphase reactions
Shows that the overall reaction kinetics and selectivity in multi-phase systems can be greatly different from those observed in single phase systems, and explains the principles and laboratory practice required to understand such processes.
Scale-up
Shows how to minimise scale up problems by applying an understanding of basic physicochemical aspects of the process. Chemical reaction rate constants stay the same on scale up, but related physical processes are scale dependent. This simple principle can be used to think through possible scale-up difficulties.
The organisers reserve the right to change the published programme of events and course content as circumstances dictate.