ISBN 978-3-8439-0483-4

978-3-8439-0483-4, Reihe Technische Chemie

Torsten Winkelnkemper
Key performance indicators for economic downstream process development

227 Seiten, Dissertation Technische Universität Dortmund (2012), Softcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Performance and cost-efficiency of biotechnological processes largely depend on decisions made in early phases of process development. Experimental investigation of process alternatives, unit operations, mass separating agents and operating conditions should therefore be evaluated and benchmarked with the aim of designing the most cost-efficient total process. Up to now this is only possible when a complete process concept is either modeled or set up in laboratory scale. Before that stage design decisions are based on practical feasibility, experimental yield and purity improvement, without estimates for cost-efficiency.

In this thesis the several key performance indicators like the “purification performance index” (PPI) and “separation cost indicator” (SCI) are introduced with the intention of rating experimentally investigated purification steps in respect of complete process performance. Purity improvement is rated with regard to process boundaries and purification rating, yields and large scale costs are concatenated to single benchmarks. With these indicators single steps or step combinations can be rated prior to availability of complete process concepts or mass balances.

Furthermore, purification fingerprints are introduced which characterize purification steps or mass separating agents due to their contaminant-specific selectivity in a descriptive and comprehensive way. They uncover strengths and weaknesses of purification steps in removing certain contaminants. Thereby, efficient step combinations can be derived from the combination of contrary fingerprints.

Application of key performance indicators and purification fingerprints is demonstrated for the example process of isolating baccatin III and 10-deacetylbaccatin III from plant cell cultures of Taxus baccata. Both taxanes are precursors of the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel. Starting from filtered fermentation broth several sorbents and organic solvents are investigated for a first adsorption or extraction from supernatant, respectively. Consistent rating with key performance indicators leads to a simple process yielding 97% pure baccatin III without chromatographic separations.