Technical Tuesday: OPEX Reduction Through Innovative Solvent Recovery
28 June 2022
5.30-6.30pm SGT | Online
Synopsis:
Within the pharmaceutical industry, in particular in the API manufacturing, different types of solvents are used that eventually need to leave the production process. These solvent-containing waste streams can be generated at high concentration, e.g.1 wt% or higher, or at much lower concentrations, in the ppm range. The first type is often treated off-site to reclaim the solvent for reuse, but the "aqueous" solvents typically end up in the wastewater treatment system. There it can cause upsets in the biotreatment, it will result in additional biosludge formation, and it may restrict production expansion due to it contribution to the COD/BOD load towards the biotreater.
Macro Porous Polymer Extraction is a technology that can remove these solvent efficiently and return these as a more or less pure solvent, or as a very concentrated stream, upto 40 wt% that would enable further treatment for recovery. MPPE uses typically 10 to 15 % energy compared to direct distillation, which makes it effective and cost competitive. The MPPE technology will be explained and examples will be shared as well as the typical development route from a first idea to implementation.
Led by:
Jeroen Boom, Sales Director, Veolia Water Technologies, Netherlands
Jeroen holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Twente University in The Netherlands and a PhD degree in membrane technology. After a one year post doctoral position at the Demokritos Institute in Athens, Greece, he managed a consultancy firm for two years.
Throughout his 22 years in the Process Engineering department of Veolia Water Netherlands, he has worked on several major industrial water treatment plants including the one serving the Pearl GTL complex. Building on his technical expertise, Jeroen also held business development positions as a Global Account Manager for Shell as well as a Sales Director, who is responsible for the market expansion of a unique technology, known as Macro Porous Polymer Extraction Systems.