PROBLEM:

Polymer quality variation and safety issues.

A company using a custom-made latex polymer in its application could only buy that polymer at small scale and with a significant batch-to-batch variation in quality. On top of that, one of the raw materials was not allowed to be used in an industrial production anymore due to a change in REACH two years after starting the project.

APPROACH:

AgfaLabs proposed the following strategy

In a first stage a lab-study to prove a controlled synthesis result, which included a reproducible and industrializeable lab process description, taking safety of the raw materials and the process into account. All of this in close collaboration with the customer who tested the different polymers in its the application, to ensure a fit-for-purpose product.

In a second stage a pilot-study that included optimization and robustness testing to prove production capability and the development of a cleaning procedure to assure production installation integrity. We consolidated all process-knowledge in a pilot batch-description, including experiments to prove scalability, predictabilityle and reproducibility (performance and analytics).

And finally, after a successful 1st and 2nd stage, the step to industrialization in our manufacturing facility in Heultje, with the first successful batches done at 400 l and the final step to 1000 l scale, with a full process- description, a quality strategy for the raw materials and final product, and a process-safety study.

During the entire project, there was a continuous evaluation of regulatory restrictions.

Challenges & Solution

Process understanding and process safety are always the starting point for the development of a viable industrial process.
The process development cycle includes:

• Process & cost optimization
• Evaluation of regulatory restrictions
• Assessment of the key safety aspects