process engineering
Process Engineering
Design and Optimize Industrial-Scale CPC Workflows.
As part of our Process Engineering services, we support customers in translating laboratory-scale methods into robust, compliant, and scalable industrial workflows. Our Design Team and Product & Customer Engineering Team adapt equipment design and process configuration to meet project-specific requirements, ensuring that every detail aligns with production goals. This service includes detailed mass balance and capacity calculations (covering solvent demand, production scale, throughput, yield, purity, and storage needs).
This process begins with the Process Flow Diagram (PFD), which defines major equipment, flow paths, and solvent recycling loops, translating optimized methods into scalable processes. The PFD then serves as the basis for our proprietary Process Flow Calculator (PFC), which simulates real-world conditions to evaluate operating parameters, peripheral capacity, energy use, and potential bottlenecks. Through iterative simulations, we minimize risks and optimize processes for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Once validated, the PFD evolves into a detailed Process and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID), specifying interconnections, sensors, control strategies, and safety systems.
Together, these tools ensure every CPC workflow is reliable, compliant, and seamlessly integrated into industrial downstream processes, delivering purification systems that are safe, scalable, and sustainable.
User Requirements Specification (URS)
Chromatography method development
Standard Process Flow Diagrams (PFD)
Process and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)
Optimized, final PFD
Process Flow Calculator (PFC)
Integration into Downstream Processing – Seamless Workflow Adaptation.
RotaChrom offers CPC integration as a service to help customers incorporate Centrifugal Partition Chromatography into their existing downstream processes (DSP). Through this service, CPC can replace or simplify conventional unit operations while fitting smoothly into established workflows.
The integration begins with a thorough assessment of the existing downstream process to identify potential integration points. Based on this evaluation, RotaChrom develops a tailored integration plan, including CPC method development and process design optimized for the customer’s specific needs. During the implementation phase, the company provides hands-on training, scale-up assistance, and operational guidance to ensure a seamless transition.
Finally, system connectivity is supported by integrating CPC units into the most common process control platforms through standard communication interfaces, enabling efficient data exchange and automation. By aligning CPC with existing operations, companies can streamline their downstream workflows and gain the additional benefits of a scalable and sustainable purification technology.
Chemical Synthesis
— applied after quenching and initial work-up (e.g., filtration), CPC can directly separate the desired product from unreacted materials and byproducts without the need for solid supports.
Fermentation
— following cell separation and clarification, CPC can be introduced as an alternative to solid-phase chromatography for purifying target compounds from crude broth-derived supernatants.
Isomerization / Biotransformation
— integrated after reaction completion, CPC enables the selective purification of isomers or biotransformation products. Method conditions can be optimized with pH adjustment to achieve efficient separation.
Natural Extracts
— CPC can replace conventional batch solvent extraction, offering a continuous and scalable purification step after the initial clarification of raw extracts.
| Industry / Stage | Bulk separation / Extraction | Concentration / Solvent exchange | Selective purification | Polishing / Formulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Chemical Synthesis
Quenching, Filtration
|
Optional replacement or complement | Single-step transition from crude | Main separation from impurities | Polishing / Formulation |
|
Fermentation
Cell separation, Clarification
|
Extraction | Phase adjustment / Concentration | Selective purification | Polishing / Formulation |
|
Isomerization / Biotransformation
Quenching, pH adjustment
|
Catalyst removal | Concentration | Chiral / E-Z separation | Polishing / Formulation |
|
Natural Extracts
Solvent extraction, Filtration
|
Solvent exchange | Concentration | Selective purification | Evaporation → Polishing → Formulation |
← Scroll horizontally to view full workflow →
Scalable Solutions with CPC – Seamless Scale-Up from Lab to Industrial Production.
As part of our scalable solutions offering, RotaChrom supports customers in expanding CPC processes from laboratory experiments to full industrial operations. RotaChrom’s CPC technology is designed to grow with your project, offering both vertical and horizontal scale-up pathways.
Vertical scale-up begins with laboratory-scale Benchtop CPC (mg/g), moving seamlessly to rCPC for advanced research or pilot production (g/kg), and further to Continuous CPC for uninterrupted industrial-scale purification, eventually reaching the pCPC system with peripheral units for robust, continuous processing.
Horizontal scale-out allows multiple CPC units to run in parallel under a centralized control system, providing flexibility, increased throughput, redundancy, and adaptability when volumetric scale-up is not ideal.
With this modular CPC approach, customers can streamline development and production in a single platform. Our Teams in collaboration ensure smooth technology transfer, reducing risk and timelines while enabling seamless transition from lab-scale methods to full industrial-scale production.