API Manufacturing Example

Nutsche filter (NFD-101), and a 10 tray dryer (TDR-101). The objective is to produce 27,000 kg of active ingredient per year at a cost of no more than 350/kg. 

The process is divided into four sections 1) Product Synthesis, 2) Isolation and Purification, 3) Final Purification, and 4) Crystallization and Drying. A flowsheet section in SuperPro Designer is simply a group of unit procedures (processing steps). If you open the file (SPhr9 0c.spf) in SuperPro Designer, you will see that the unit procedures of each section are differentiated by color (green, blue, purple, and black for sections one, two, three, and four, respectively). 

The process includes a total of 12 unit procedures. The first reaction step (procedure P-1) involves the chlorination of quinaldine. Quinaldine is dissolved in carbon tetrachloride (CCU) and reacts with gaseous CI2 to form chloroquinaldine. The conversion of the reaction is around 98% (based on amount of quanaldine fed). The generated HCl is then neutralized using Na CO. The stoichiometry of these reactions follows  

The small amounts of unreacted CI2, generated CO2, and volatilized CCI4, are vented. The above three reactions occur sequentially in the first reactor vessel (R-101). Next, HCl is added in order to produce chloroquinaldine-ifCZ. The HCl first neutralizes the remaining NaHCOs and then reacts with chloroquinaldine to form its salt, according to the following stoichiometries  

The small amounts of generated CO2 and volatilized CCI4, are vented. The presence of water (added with HCl as hydrochloric acid solution) and CCI4, leads to the formation of two liquid phases. Then the small amounts of unreacted quinaldine and chloroquinaldine are removed with the organic phase. The chloroquinaldine-if Cl remains in the aqueous phase. This sequence of operations (including all charges and transfers) requires 14.5 h. 

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