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Monitoring specific chemical properties is the key to chemical process control. Today, mainly optical online methods are applied, which require time- and cost-intensive calibration effort. NMR spectroscopy, with its advantage being a direct comparison method without need for calibration, has a high potential for closed-loop process control while exhibiting short set-up times. Compact NMR instruments make NMR spectroscopy accessible in industrial and rough environments for process monitoring and advanced process control strategies.
We present a fully automated data analysis approach which is completely based on physically motivated spectral models as first principles information (Indirect Hard Modelling – IHM) and applied it to a given pharmaceutical lithiation reaction in the framework of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project CONSENS. Online low-field NMR (LF NMR) data was analysed by IHM with low calibration effort, compared to a multivariate PLS-R (Partial Least Squares Regression) approach, and both validated using online high-field NMR (HF NMR) spectroscopy.
The departure from the current automation landscape to next generation automation concepts for the process industry has already begun. Smart functions of sensors simplify their use and enable plug-and-play integration, even though they may appear to be more complex at first sight. Monitoring specific information (i.e., “chemical” such as physico-chemical properties, chemical reactions, etc.) is the key to “chemical” process control. Here we introduce our smart online NMR sensor module provided in an explosion proof housing as example.
Due to NMR spectroscopy as an “absolute analytical comparison method”, independent of the matrix, it runs with extremely short set-up times in combination with “modular” spectral models. Such models can simply be built upon pure component NMR spectra within a few hours (i.e., assignment of the NMR signals to the components) instead of tedious calibrations runs. We present a range of approaches for the automated spectra analysis moving from statistical approach, (i.e., Partial Least Squares Regression) to physically motivated spectral models (i.e., Indirect Hard Modelling and Quantum Mechanical calculations).
Based on concentration measurements of reagents and products by the NMR analyzer a continuous production and direct loop process control were successfully realized for several validation runs in a modular industrial pilot plant and compared to conventional analytical methods (HPLC, near infrared spectroscopy). The NMR analyser was developed for an intensified industrial process funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (“Integrated CONtrol and SENsing”, www.consens-spire.eu).
In case study one of the CONSENS project, two aromatic substances were coupled by a lithiation reaction, which is a prominent example in pharmaceutical industry. The two aromatic reactants (Aniline and o-FNB) were mixed with Lithium-base (LiHMDS) in a continuous modular plant to produce the desired product (Li-NDPA) and a salt (LiF). The salt precipitates which leads to the formation of particles. The feed streams were subject to variation to drive the plant to its optimum.
The uploaded data comprises the results from four days during continuous plant operation time. Each day is denoted from day 1-4 and represents the dates 2017-09-26, 2017-09-28, 2017-10-10, 2017-10-17.
In the following the contents of the files are explained.
Flexible automation with compact NMR spectroscopy for continuous production of pharmaceuticals
(2019)
Modular plants using intensified continuous processes represent an appealing concept for the production of pharmaceuticals. It can improve quality, safety, sustainability, and profitability compared to batch processes; besides, it enables plug-and-produce reconfiguration for fast product changes. To facilitate this flexibility by real-time quality control, we developed a solution that can be adapted quickly to new processes and is based on a compact nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. The NMR sensor is a benchtop device enhanced to the requirements of automated chemical production including robust evaluation of sensor data. Beyond monitoring the product quality, online NMR data was used in a new iterative optimization approach to maximize the plant profit and served as a reliable reference for the calibration of a near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer. The overall approach
was demonstrated on a commercial-scale pilot plant using a metal-organic reaction with pharmaceutical relevance.
Monitoring chemical reactions is the key to chemical process control. Today, mainly optical online methods are applied, which require excessive calibration effort. NMR spectroscopy has a high potential for direct loop process control while exhibiting short set-up times. Compact NMR instruments make NMR spectroscopy accessible in industrial and harsh environments for advanced process Monitoring and control, as demonstrated within the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project CONSENS.
We present a range of approaches for the automated spectra analysis moving from conventional multivariate statistical approach, (i.e., Partial Least Squares Regression) to physically motivated spectral models (i.e., Indirect Hard Modelling and Quantum Mechanical calculations). By using the benefits of traditional qNMR experiments data analysis models can meet the demands of the PAT community (Process Analytical Technology) regarding low calibration effort/calibration free methods, fast adaptions for new reactants or derivatives and robust automation schemes.
The goal of this work is to identify the optimal operating input for a lithiation reaction that is performed in a highly innovative pilot scale continuous flow chemical plant in an industrial environment, taking into account the process and safety constraints. The main challenge is to identify the optimum operation in the absence of information about the reaction mechanism and the reaction kinetics. We employ an iterative real-time optimization scheme called modifier adaptation with quadratic approximation (MAWQA) to identify the plant optimum in the presence of plant-model mismatch and measurement noise. A novel NMR PAT-sensor is used to measure the concentration of the reactants and of the product at the reactor outlet. The experiment results demonstrate the capabilities of the iterative optimization using the MAWQA algorithm in driving a complex real plant to an economically optimal operating point in the presence of plant-model mismatch and of process and measurement uncertainties.
Monitoring chemical reactions is the key to chemical process control. Today, mainly optical online methods are applied. NMR spectroscopy has a high potential for direct loop process control. Compact NMR instruments based on permanent magnets are robust and inexpensive analysers, which feature advantages like low maintenance, ease of use, and cryogen-free operation. Instruments for online NMR measurements equipped with a flow-through cell, possessing a good signal-to-noise-ratio, robustness, and meeting the requirements for integration into industrial plants (i.e., explosion safety and fully automated data analysis) are currently not available off the rack.
Intensified continuous processes are in focus of current research. Flexible (modular) chemical plants can produce different products using the same equipment with short down-times between campaigns and quick introduction of new products to the market. In continuous flow processes online sensor data and tight closed-loop control of the product quality are mandatory. Otherwise there is a huge risk of producing large amounts of out-of-spec (OOS) products. This is addressed in the European Union’s Research Project CONSENS by development and integration of smart sensor modules for process monitoring and control within such modular plant setups.
The presented NMR module is provided in an explosion proof housing with a module size of 57 x 57 x 85 cm and involves a compact 43.5 MHz NMR spectrometer together with an acquisition unit and a programmable logic controller for automated data preparation (phasing, baseline correction) and evaluation. Indirect Hard Modeling (IHM) was selected for data analysis of the low-field NMR spectra. A set-up for monitoring continuous reactions in a thermostated 1/8” tubular reactor using automated syringe pumps was used to validate the IHM models by using high-field NMR spectroscopy as analytical reference method.
Industry 4.0 is all about interconnectivity, sensor-enhanced process control, and data-driven systems. Process analytical technology (PAT) such as online nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is gaining in importance, as it increasingly contributes to automation and digitalization in production. In many cases up to now, however, a classical evaluation of process data and their transformation into knowledge is not possible or not economical due to the insufficiently large datasets available. When developing an automated method applicable in process control, sometimes only the basic data of a limited number of batch tests from typical product and process development campaigns are available. However, these datasets are not large enough for training machine-supported procedures. In this work, to overcome this limitation, a new procedure was developed, which allows physically motivated multiplication of the available reference data in order to obtain a sufficiently large dataset for training machine learning algorithms. The underlying example chemical synthesis was measured and analyzed with both application-relevant low-field NMR and high-field NMR spectroscopy as reference method. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have the potential to infer valuable process information already from relatively limited input data. However, in order to predict the concentration at complex conditions (many reactants and wide concentration ranges), larger ANNs and, therefore, a larger Training dataset are required. We demonstrate that a moderately complex problem with four reactants can be addressed using ANNs in combination with the presented PAT method (low-field NMR) and with the proposed approach to generate meaningful training data.
Modular plants using intensified continuous processes represent an appealing concept to produce pharmaceuticals. It can improve quality, safety, sustainability, and profitability compared to batch processes, and it enables plug-and-produce reconfiguration for fast product changes. To facilitate this flexibility by real-time quality control, we developed a solution that can be adapted quickly to new processes and includes a compact Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer for online quality monitoring as well as a new model-based control approach. The NMR sensor is a benchtop device enhanced to the requirements of automated chemical production including ro-bust evaluation of sensor data.
Here, we present alternatives for the quantitative determination of the analytes using modular, physically motivated models. These models can be adapted to new substances solely by the use of their corresponding pure component spectra, which can either be derived from experimental spectra as well as from quantum mechanical models or NMR predictors. Modular means that spec-tral models can simply be exchanged together with alternate reagents and products. Beyond that, we comprehensively calibrated an NIR spectrometer based on online NMR process data for the first time within an industrial plant. The integrated solution was developed for a metal organic reac-tion running on a commercial-scale modular pilot plant and it was tested under industrial conditions.
Monitoring chemical reactions is the key to process control. Today, mainly optical online methods are applied, which are calibration intensive. NMR spectroscopy has a high potential for direct loop process control while cutting the calibration and validation needs to an minimum and thus exhibiting short set-up times. Compact NMR instruments make NMR spectroscopy accessible in industrial and harsh environments for advanced process monitoring and control.
Intensified continuous processes are in focus of current research. Flexible (modular) chemical plants can produce different products using the same equipment with short down-times between campaigns and quick introduction of new products to the market. In continuous flow processes online sensor data and tight closed-loop control of the product quality are mandatory. Data analysis techniques are available but currently mostly used for off-line data analysis to detect the causes of variations in the product quality.
This is addressed within the EU’s Research Project CONSENS by the development and integration of a smart NMR module for process monitoring. The presented NMR module is provided in a mobile explosion proof housing and involves a compact spectrometer together with an acquisition unit and a programmable logic controller for automated data preparation (phasing, baseline correction), and evaluation. Such “smart sensors” provide the basis for the future project “Industrie 4.0”, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), along with current requirements to process control, model based control, or soft sensing. The module transforms the acquired online spectra of various technically relevant reactions to either conventional 4‒20 mA signals as well as WiFi based OPC-UA communication protocols, which enables NMR-based advanced process control and funny discussions with plant managers along with automation and safety engineers.