Continuous Flow Technology in Industry

METTLER TOLEDO is pleased to be presenting and exhibiting at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)’s Continuous Flow Technology in Industry Conference. The production of speciality chemicals is still heavily reliant on batch processes, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, and this symposium will highlight recent developments focused on the growth of continuous processes in the fine chemicals and pharma industries.

Topics to be covered include:

• Continuous flow reactors and equipment on a production scale
• Continuous flow technology for the Pharmaceutical Industry
• Scale up of exothermic and hazardous chemistry
• Comparison of batch and continuous processes

Enabling and Optimizing Chemical Reactions in Real Time – Jon Goode
Flow chemistry is one of the hottest topics in organic chemistry today. In the chemical development and processing environment, improvements in product quality, yield, synthetic route, safety and overall time efficiency have become key factors in driving chemists and engineers to seek alternative chemical development methods. Reaction control is key to ensure only desired product is produced, as opposed to other substituents such as toxic and/or highly reactive intermediates that can be challenging to control and therefore pose significant personnel safety risks. Continuous flow reactors have the ability to:

• Better control chemistry
• Use higher temperatures and pressures to access new chemistries and compounds
• Reduce reaction times from hours to minutes
• Increase selectivity and yields while reducing purification needs and waste at the same time
• Screen many different sets of conditions in one reaction, all with minimal amounts of expensive or quantity limited materials
• Scale-up from milligrams to kilos with minimal optimization

The combination of flow reactor technology and in situ analysis takes flow chemistry to another level. The formation of products, by-products and reactive intermediates are all followed, and this information used to make ‘on the fly’ adjustments and educated decisions, leading to optimized operating conditions of the whole system. Offline analysis is no longer required and optimum results are achieved in minutes, saving valuable time and resources. The use of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with an integrated, micro flow cell provides an ideal inline measurement device to monitor and provide reaction feedback on control parameters for immediate understanding and optimization of the process.

This paper will focus on:

• An overview of FTIR in situ analysis in industry
• Chemistry examples showing the rapid optimization of reactions using the combination of flow technology and in situ analysis
• The potential for in situ FTIR technology to be used as a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) tool in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) production
• Ideas for the future of flow chemistry and in situ analysis