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Case study 3: Avoiding going through the mill

The problem:

In the primary manufacture of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, the products are typically isolated as large crystals of variable sizes. A secondary manufacturing process of milling, grinding and micronisation is therefore required to process crystals before formulation. This secondary manufacture is energy intensive and wasteful. Our clients, a collaboration of multinational chemical companies wanted to investigate ways to avoid this secondary manufacture.

The solution:

iPRD was asked to investigate the effects of crystal growth modifiers on the control of crystal size. We developed a responsive system which allowed fine control of crystal size and distribution and eliminated the requirement for secondary manufacture, thus saving money and time. The technology we developed was successfully applied in the pilot plant of our client.