With its expertise in process optimisation , Siegfried helps its customers to develop greener production processes across the entire production cycle
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Increasing the sustainability of API production
With its expertise in process optimisation , Siegfried helps its customers to develop greener production processes across the entire production cycle
One of the biggest levers for reducing energy and resource consumption in the pharma supply chain lies in the efficient production of APIs . Siegfried has developed and implemented various measures to achieve this . One lever , for example , is green chemistry . This involves minimising or completely eliminating the use of hazardous substances .
Jürgen Roos , chief scientific officer at Siegfried explains : “ We target the simple things first as they can have a big impact . Some processes can operate just as effectively with less reagent and higher throughput . We design experiments to see how far we can ‘ green-shift ’ an existing process to reduce inputs .”
In some cases , Siegfried fundamentally rethinks the API synthesis route . For such processes , it introduces shorter synthetic routes and more selective catalytic processes . With one of the company ’ s multi-client products , the synthesis route was shortened from 17 to ten process steps , reducing raw material and energy consumption by half and generating 50 % less waste .
Another example is pervaporation . Siegfried is currently testing semi-permeable membranes as a sustainable solution for the removal of water and methanol from solvents . This can reduce waste material by up to 15 times compared to distillation . Ultimately , all these measures lead to higher product yields for its customers .
Computer modelling for scale-up
As well as shorter processes , computer simulations contribute to a better environmental footprint in API production at Siegfried . For example , data analysis enables Design of Experiments ( DoE ) for efficient laboratory development and Quality by Design ( QbD ) to achieve optimal product quality . Big Data analysis helps to improve processes and to stabilise them at an optimum .
Computer modelling is also used for scaling up from small lab equipment to large reactors in the production plant . This makes it possible , for example , to predict heat transfers or flow conditions in the large reactor .
“ In the past , scientists would use an intermediate-scale reactor as a stepping stone , because chemical processes can be more challenging as the reactor gets bigger or changes shape ,” says Roos . “ Nowadays , Siegfried ’ s laboratories have accurate , small-scale models of large production reactors , and we combine these with computer modelling to guide us . This allows us to go straight to the desired manufacturing scale from the lab , without wasteful and time-consuming experimentation at the intermediate pilot scale .”
Carbon-neutral by 2050
Siegfried ’ s sustainability efforts go far beyond optimising processes . By 2030 , the company wants to halve its carbon footprint compared to 2020 , and by 2050 it aims to be carbon-neutral . Siegfried is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe , has positive ratings in the ISS ESG and has an AA in the MSCI ESG Ratings . From EcoVadis , the most recent results were Gold for four sites and Silver for the other seven . ●
SEP / OCT 2023 SPECCHEMONLINE . COM
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