Secrets of Batch Process Scale-Up
A 3 day training course
Date: 23 April - 25 April 2024
Location: Boston, USA
Tutors: Francis X. McConville
This popular course, designed for those with limited or no pilot plant or scale-up experience, provides a comprehensive overview of the most common problems experienced during the scale-up of laboratory batch processes, and ways to avoid or mitigate them. The difference between laboratory scale techniques and how the major unit operations are carried out in the pilot plant is a key focus of the course. Thus, along the way attendees will examine the many issues associated with raw material handling, conducting synthetic reactions, reaction workup, product crystallization, isolation and drying at the pilot plant or commercial scale.
The course also explores some important engineering concepts such as batch mixing, heat transfer, mass transfer, fluid flow and the influence of these factors on the success of large scale chemical operations. With an awareness of these phenomena, the laboratory researcher will have a better understanding of the types of experiments that should be conducted and the types of data that should be collected to ensure a more successful scale-up. Numerous examples and case histories are presented to reinforce the course material, and class exercises provide an opportunity to put some of the lessons into practice. Heavy emphasis is placed on process safety.

Remind Me

Course outline
Process Design for Scale-Up Process development strategies Importance of engineering in PDs Scale-Up – An Overview Role of the Pilot Plant Overview of scale-up issues Technology transfer issuesBatch Reactors Typical plant operations and equipment Characteristics of batch operationsRaw Materials Raw material and route selection Large-scale charging methods and issuesTemperature Control Large scale temperature control Heat transfer in batch reactors Controlling exothermic reactionsFollowing Reaction Progress Reaction endpoint determination Sampling methods / issues On-line analytical techniques |
Agitation and Mixing Large scale mixing equipment Mixing limited reaction Mixing scale-up / scale-down Quench & Work-Up
Liquid-liquid extractions
Phase continuity issues and emulsions
Distillation & Stripping
Differential distillation
Azeotropes and solvent exchange
Crystallization and Precipitation
Basic principles / yield estimation
Controlling supersaturation
Scale-up issues
Product Isolation and Drying
Large-scale solid-liquid separations
Filtration and drying equipment
Filtration and drying modelling
Process Hazards and Safety Assessment
Common hazards in large-scale processing
Process hazard assessments and evaluations
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Benefits of attending
On completion of this course you will be able to:
- Assess the safety and scalability of new processes
- Identify process operations that may be problematic on scale-up
- Design processes that will minimize or avoid common scale-up issues
- Better understand heat transfer and mixing requirements for scale-up
- Develop more robust crystallization, isolation and drying processes
Who should attend
This course has been designed for chemists, engineers, technicians and managers in the fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries with limited pilot plant experience who wish to learn more about the potential pitfalls of process scale-up and ways to avoid them. Attendees will come away from the course more knowledgeable about common scale up problems and better equipped to prepare for and deal with them. The course complements the more chemistry-focused Scientific Update course “Chemical Development and Scale-Up in the Fine Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries”.
What's Included
The course fee includes:
- comprehensive course manual
- coffee/tea refreshments breaks throughout each day
- buffet lunch each day
- course dinner on the first evening
- course certificate
As part of the registration fee for this course, each participant will receive a copy of The Pilot Plant Real Book – A Unique Handbook for the Chemical Process Industry, written by Mr. McConville.
Testimonials
March 2023
It was very informative training course for chemists and engineers.
Secrets Of Batch
A must-do for anyone starting in the industrial chemistry world, or willing to broaden his knowledge/understanding of the field.
Secrets of Batch
Great course enclosing many relevant topics for scale-up issues
Secrets Of Batch
This was a really useful course for chemists making the transition from the lab to process chemistry in the pilot plant.
Secrets Of Batch
As a process chemist who is new to working with scale-up chemistry, the course was very eye-opening on some of the problems faced when attempting to move chemistry from the lab to the plant. When the time comes to move a project onto the plant, I feel like I’ll be more confident and more informed on how to make the scale-up as smooth as possible.