Batch process monitoring using on-line MIR spectroscopy

Many high quality products are produced in a batch wise manner. One of the characteristics of a batch process is the recipe driven nature. By repeating the recipe in an identical manner a desired end-product is obtained. However, in spite of repeating the recipe in an identical manner, process differences occur. These differences can be caused by a change of feed stock supplier or impurities in the process. Because of this, differences might occur in the end-product quality or unsafe process situations arise. Therefore, the need to monitor an industrial batch process exists. An industrial process is usually monitored by process measurements such as pressures and temperatures. Nowadays, due to technical developments, spectroscopy is more and more used for process monitoring. Spectroscopic measurements have the advantage of giving a direct chemical insight in the process. Multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) is a statistical way of monitoring the behaviour of a process. Combining spectroscopic measurements with MSPC will notice process perturbations or process deviations from normal operating conditions in a very simple manner. In the following an application is given of batch process monitoring. It is shown how a calibration model is developed and used with the principles of MSPC. Statistical control charts are developed and used to detect batches with a process upset.     

Using computer simulation to assist in the robustness analysis of an ion-exchange chromatography step

This paper presents a methodology to gain process knowledge and assist in the robustness analysis of an ion-exchange step in a protein purification process using a model-based approach. Factorial experimental design is common practice in industry today to obtain robustness characterization of unit operations with respect to variations in process parameters. This work aims at providing a better insight into what process variations affect quality and to further reduce the experimental work to the regions of process variation that are of most interest. This methodology also greatly increases the ability to predict process performance and promotes process understanding. The model calibration part of the methodology involves three consecutive steps to calibrate a steric mass action (SMA) ion-exchange chromatography model. Firstly, a number of gradient elution experiments are performed. Secondly, experimental breakthrough curves have to be generated for the proteins if the adsorption capacity of the medium for each component is not known. Thirdly, a multi-component loading experiment is performed to calibrate the multi-component effects that cannot be determined from the single-component experiments. The separation process studied in this work is the separation of polyclonal IgG from a mixture containing IgG, myoglobin and BSA. The calibrated model is used to simulate six process variations in a full factorial experiment. The results of the simulations provide information about the importance of the different process variations and the simulations are also used to determine the crucial points for the process parameter variations. The methodology can be used to assist in the robustness analysis normally performed in the pharmaceutical industry today as it is able to predict the impact on process performance resulting from variations in salt concentration, column load, protein concentration and flow rate.     

Adsorption process of phenothiazine solution in dimethyl sulfoxide on graphite electrodes

In this paper, an original solution for the modeling and simulation of the adsorption process of a phenothiazine derivative on graphite electrodes is presented. The adsorption process is considered a distributed parameter one, due to the fact that the adsorbed phenothiazine quantity is a function depending on two independent variables. The structure parameters of the adsorption process, which define the influence of both independent variables, are determined using an experimental identification method. The experimental data are obtained through an experiment which is based on the process step response. In order to simulate the adsorption process, the approximate analytical solution, representing the process model, is determined. The simulation results prove the model generality; it is being simulated in relation to both independent variables.     

Generation of surface energy patterns by single pulse laser interference on self-assembled monolayers

Single pulse laser interference lithography is used to structure self-assembled monolayers of thiols on gold. This structuring process is investigated by attenuated total reflection measurements, and a demixing process of a binary polymer blend is used to visualize the produced surface energy pattern. The lithography can be realized with different wavelengths (266, 532, and 1064 nm) which shows that the structuring is a thermal process. As a first demonstration of this process, structures down to 800 nm period and 300 nm width are fabricated.     

Design of a combined ozone/electron beam process for waste water and economic feasibility of the process

A design of a combined ozone/electron beam irradiation process for treating a 50 m³/h waste water stream from a molasses processing is discussed. Moreover, a cost evaluation of such a process in comparison to a conventional ozonation/biology treatment process has been performed to assess the potential of the irradiation process for technical use. Although the result of this comparison is not bad for the irradiation process an implementation into a full scale plant would not seem to be the thing to do in the present case.     

可溶解的聚氨酯交联大分子的合成及其特殊的溶液行为

到目前为止，交联过程之所以难以控制是因为在交联聚合体系中，没有一个与交联过程相竞争的反应．本文利用大分子在溶液中是无规线团的特征，设计了含有分子内和分子间反应的交联聚合体系，分子间反应即交联过程，而分子内反应使分子问反应受到抑制，使交联过程的链增长不能无限发展，从而合成了可溶解的具有交联结构的大分子．     

A novel multi‐mode data processing method and its application in industrial process monitoring

Multi‐mode process monitoring is a key issue often raised in industrial process control. Most multivariate statistical process monitoring strategies, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares, make an essential assumption that the collected data follow a unimodal or Gaussian distribution. However, owing to the complexity and the multi‐mode feature of industrial processes, the collected data usually follow different distributions. This paper proposes a novel multi‐mode data processing method called weighted k neighbourhood standardisation (WKNS) to address the multi‐mode data problem. This method can transform multi‐mode data into an approximately unimodal or Gaussian distribution. The results of theoretical analysis and discussion suggest that the WKNS strategy is more suitable for multi‐mode data normalisation than the z‐score method is. Furthermore, a new fault detection approach called WKNS‐PCA is developed and applied to detect process outliers. This method does not require process knowledge and multi‐mode modelling; only a single model is required for multi‐mode process monitoring. The proposed method is tested on a numerical example and the Tennessee Eastman process. Finally, the results demonstrate that the proposed data preprocessing and process monitoring methods are particularly suitable and effective in multi‐mode data normalisation and industrial process fault detection. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multivariate statistical analysis of a multi-step industrial processes

Monitoring and quality control of industrial processes often produce information on how the data have been obtained. In batch processes, for instance, the process is carried out in stages; some process or control parameters are set at each stage. However, the obtained data might not be utilized efficiently, even if this information may reveal significant knowledge about process dynamics or ongoing phenomena. When studying the process data, it may be important to analyse the data in the light of the physical or time-wise development of each process step. In this paper, a unified approach to analyse multivariate multi-step processes, where results from each step are used to evaluate future results, is presented. The methods presented are based on Priority PLS Regression. The basic idea is to compute the weights in the regression analysis for given steps, but adjust all data by the resulting score vectors. This approach will show how the process develops from a data point of view. The procedure is illustrated on a relatively simple industrial batch process, but it is also applicable in a general context, where knowledge about the variables is available.     

Material- und Signalfluß

An industrial production process is considered to be divided into a working process and an information process. Starting point for the information process is the sampling of a material flow. The meaning of “representative” samples as well as questions of continuous and non-continuous sampling methods are discussed. The signals coming out of analysis are arranged in a special way according to statistical methods. Thereafter the information content is calculated by using rules of the information theory. The transmission of the information content within a certain time results in an information flux. The information flux actually required by the working process is compared to the information flux provided by analysis; and both are put into an equilibrium followed by considerations on “necessary and sufficient” analytical actions. It is the aim of analytical information processes to reduce the entropy of the working process to a minimum.     

A validation concept for purity determination and assay in the pharmaceutical industry using measurement uncertainty and statistical process control

 The analytical chemists in process development in the pharmaceutical industry have to solve the difficult problem of producing high quality methods for purity determination and assay within a short time without a clear definition of the substance to be analyzed. Therefore the quality management is very difficult. The ideal situation would be that every method is validated before use. This is not possible because this would delay the development process. A process-type quality development approach with an estimation type fast validation (measurement uncertainty) is therefore suggested. The quality management process consists of the estimation of measurement uncertainty for early project status. Statistical process control (SPC) is started directly after measurement uncertainty estimation and a classical validation for the end of the project. By this approach a process is defined that allows a fast and cost-efficient way of supporting the development process with the appropriate quality at the end of the process and provides the transparency needed in the development process. The procedure presented tries to solve the problem of the parallelism between the two development processes (chemical and analytical development) by speeding up the analytical development process initially. Received: 25 March 1997 · Accepted: 17 May 1997     

ELECTRODIALYTIC PRODUCTION OF HYPOPHOSPHOROUS ACID

Disclosed is a method of preparing hypophosphorous acid comprising contacting an insoluble anode with an aqueous solution of hypophosphite anions and applying a direct current through the insoluble anode to a cathode in electrical contact with the aqueous solution to generate H+ ions in the aqueous solution thereby forming a hypophosphorous acid solution. The process is simple,low cost and high efficient, which can be tied into an existing process for producing sodium hypophosphite wherein the product of sodium hypophosphite process is used as a starting material in the hypophosphorous acid process.     

ELECTRODIALYTIC PRODUCTION OF HYPOPHOSPHOROUS ACID

1. INTRODUCTIONHypophosphorous acid (H3PO2) also known as phosphinic acid, is currently a staple article of commerce which is sold by various companies for purposes such as the manufacture of hypophosphite salts, as well as to prevent the discoloration of phosphate esters, in esterification catalysts, and for the manufacture of cooling water treatment chemicals. It is also sold for use in metal finishing procedures, as a reducing agent for electroless plating, and as a sealer for phosphat…     

ELECTRODIALYTIC PRODUCTION OPF HYPOPHOSPHOROUS ACID

Disclosed is a method of preparing hypophosphorous acid comprising contacting an insoluble anode with an aqueous solution of hypophosphite anions and applying a direct current through the insoluble anode to a cathode in electrical contact with the equeous solution to generate H^+ ions in the aqueous solution thereby forming a hypophosphorous acid solution.The process is simple,low cost and high efficient,which can be tied into an existing process for producing sodium hypophosphite wherein the product of sodium hypophosphite process is used as a starting material in the hypop[hosphorous acid process.     

Liquid-phase hydration process of cyclohexene with zeolites

The liquid-phase hydration process of cyclohexene into cyclohexanol with zeolite is described. The characteristic of this industrial process is that fine particles of zeolite are used in a slurry system, which offers high productivity and a simple separation system. In this process, the hydrophobic property and shape selectivity of ZSM-5 are fully utilized so as to realize an economical industrial process.     

Modification of Particle Filled Polymers with High Energy Electrons Under In-Stationary Conditions of Melt Mixing

Summary: Polymer modification with high energy electrons is well-established in polymer industry and used for degradation, cross-linking, grafting, curing, and polymerization. These applications use local and temporal precise input of energy in order to generate excited atoms or molecules and ions for subsequent molecule changes via radical induced chemical reactions. In the present study, high energy electrons have been used to modify polyolefine (polyethylene and polypropylene) systems in presence of a grafting agent under stationary and in-stationary conditions. Polymer modification with high energy electrons under stationary conditions characterizes a process where required absorbed dose is applied to polymers in solid state and at room temperature. Polymer modification with high energy electrons under in-stationary conditions is a novel process where required absorbed dose is applied in molten state during melt mixing process. In this novel process, the penetration depth of electrons is limited to a part of mixing volume. The total mixing volume is modified due to the change of polymer mass within the penetration depth of electrons during mixing process. A 1.5 MeV electron accelerator has been directly coupled to a banbury mixing chamber in order to study this novel process. In comparison to the stationary process, the main differences are working at higher temperature, absence of any crystallinity, intensive macromolecular mobility as well as intensive mixing during dose application. The influence of both processes on mechanical properties and flame resistance of polymer composites is discussed.     

Dynamics of glass-forming liquids. XII. Dielectric study of primary and secondary relaxations in ethylcyclohexane

The dynamics of ethylcyclohexane are investigated by high resolution dielectric spectroscopy aiming to characterize the relevant relaxational features of this simple system in its fluid, supercooled liquid, and glassy states. The dielectric signature of structural relaxation is a primary loss peak with amplitude Deltaepsilon=0.01, and a secondary loss process is found in the glassy state. This beta relaxation is compared with a "slow" process revealed by ultrasonics and with previously found gamma and chi processes in similar materials containing the cyclohexyl group. The results suggest that this secondary process is an intramolecular mode rather than a Johari-Goldstein process, consistent with its persistence in the liquid state at slow relaxation times which exceed those of the alpha process. The dielectric activity of such a slow process requires that the dipole magnitude changes with the intramolecular transition, whereas a change in dipole direction only would be masked by the faster structural relaxation.     

Analysis of Kinetic and Operational Parameters in a Structured Model for Acrylic Acid Production through Experimental Design

In biotechnological processes, a great number of factors can influence the income productivity and conversion. Normally, it is not evident which of these factors are the most important and how they interact. In this work, multivariate analysis techniques are used as experimental design coupled to a detailed deterministic model to identify the parameters with the most significant impact on the model to represent well the acrylic acid production process. It is proposed as an alternative process, having sugarcane as feedstock, to the petrochemical-based ones that have significant environmental impacts for their production. To increase the competitiveness of renewable acrylic-acid-based process, it is necessary to find out working conditions near the optimal region, which is not an easy task, as the process is multivariable and non-linear. The mapping of the dynamics of the developed process is made using techniques of factorial design together with the methodology of Plackett–Burman. It is shown that it is possible to increase the process performance by choosing optimized conditions for the reactor operation.     

Deacidification of citric acid solutions by electrodialysis

Electrodialysis is a useful process to deacidify citrus juices. Besides the known allanion exchange membrane process, two alternative electrodialysis processes were investigated: a three-stream process using cation and anion exchange membranes and a twostream process with alternately arranged bipolar and anion exchange membranes. The results taken from a laboratory electrodialysis cell show, that according to current efficiency, consumption of sodium hydroxide and by-production of sodium citrate or citric acid the alternative processes are favourable, especially the process using bipolar membranes.     

Experimental investigation and multiphysics simulation on the influence of micro tools with various end profiles on diametrical overcut of holes machined using electrochemical micromachining for a predetermined optimum combination of process parameters

Electrochemical micromachining (EMM) process is generally applied to shaping of electrically conductive materials which has been gaining popularity in the production of biomedical, MEMS, aerospace and nuclear components. The dimensional accuracy is affected by various process parameters of EMM and by the end profile of the cathode (tool) used to machine the feature. In this study, it is proposed to investigate the EMM process to know the influence of various process parameters on the diametrical overcut of the machined hole and the optimum combination of process parameters to produce holes with minimum diametrical over cut. A bare electrode with flat end is used for this purpose. Later, insulated electrode with flat end and bare electrodes with various end profiles are used to drill holes at the optimum combination of process parameters on Titanium grade II sheet to identify the most suitable micro tool to produce holes with minimum diametrical overcut and minimum stray machined zone. The EMM process of drilling holes using insulated electrode with flat end and bare electrodes with various end profiles are simulated at the optimum combination of process parameters using COMSOL Multiphysics V4.2a software. Results justified the use of multiphysics simulation to understand the process before conducting experiments so that costly trial and error experiments can be reduced to a minimum.