Scaling and piloting of new processes for chemistry and biotechnology

Transferring the manufacturing process to a larger scale is an essential step in bringing new sustainable products to market. With its expertise in scaling up a multitude of processes and its own pilot plants, Fraunhofer IGB supports companies in the market launch of green products. A wide variety of modules are available for scaling up new processes at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical-Biotechnological Processes branch in Leuna. Fraunhofer CBP also offers its expertise and infrastructure for the construction of the customer's own demonstration plants.

In light of climate change and a scarcity of resources, the chemical and process industry is also facing a fundamental upheaval. Fossil resources need to be replaced by regenerative resources such as renewable raw materials, biogenic residues or CO₂ in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and international dependencies.

Challenges due to the raw material transition and the circular economy

For this resource transition, existing production processes must either be adapted to the new raw material or, if that isn’t possible, they have to be reconstructed. Plant-based biomass, for example, must be fractionated, solvents and process parameters must be adapted and plants must be restructured. At the same time, new methods for quality control and safety assessment of the developed processes and their products are required. In addition, companies are required to increasingly abide the principles of the circular economy.

Scaling and piloting as the key to the market

Scaling plays a key role in the development of new resources for the transformation to a green economy. This is because new processes must work both on a small scale, and also on an industrial level. Pilot plants support companies in scaling up their manufacturing processes and thus in bringing new products to market.

Pilot plants: Sample production, process optimization, industrial plant design

The production of sample quantities, larger product quantities on a kilogram scale for application tests, is often only possible with pilot plants.

These are also essential in order to increase the efficiency and thus the cost-effectiveness of the developed processes. The process data generated during pilot operation can be used to identify weak points in the equipment, improve process control and obtain mass and energy balances. Optimized operating modes, such as the recirculation of solvents or the recovery of process heat, help to save operating resources and reduce costs. Eventually, based on the process data in the pilot plant, the industrial plant can then be designed as economically as possible and investment costs will be minimized. 

• Scaling of processes developed in the laboratory
• Provision of data for constructing the next technology stage
• Integrated process development and optimization, including the integration of external equipment for direct process comparison
• Process verification and show cases, such as investor rounds
• Provision of data for techno-economic evaluation and life cycle analysis of processes
• Synthesis of sample quantities for application tests
• Joint IP development 

In order to be able to manufacture larger product quantities, newly developed processes are gradually transferred to a larger scale. Upscaling results in differently dimensioned plants with increasing production capacities. Once an idea has been successfully implemented on a laboratory scale, the first technical prototypes are primarily used to test the quality and functionality of the product.

Small industrial scale: Pilot plants for process optimization

Pilot plants are an intermediate size between small prototype plants and large industrial plants. Pilot plants do not represent an enlarged laboratory scale, but rather the later industrial scale, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. The aim of transferring processes to the pilot scale is therefore to operate the equipment commonly used in industry at a lower capacity, so that the risk of transfer from the laboratory to the industrial plant is minimized. 

The example of fermentation illustrates this clearly: the laboratory tests take place in a shake flask, the subsequent stage is a small laboratory fermenter with a volume of only a few liters. For the pilot scale, fermenters that are also commonly used on an industrial scale are used – except that their volume is smaller.

Pilot plants: bridge between laboratory and industry – Data generation, optimization, configuration of the industrial plant

For the successful transfer to the next industrial dimension, the process is evaluated and optimized in the pilot plant. In the pilot plant, for example, the effect of the apparatus technology on the process, such as the container geometry, agitators or exotherms, becomes noticeable for the first time. Problems with the cultivation of microorganisms or product separation, which could not yet be assessed on a laboratory scale, can thus be resolved.

We support our industrial customers in the realization and scaling of their processes with a wide range of services in the following areas:

Process design and dimension

• Processes and plants – up to demonstration scale
• Accompanying laboratory development, e.g. with high-throughput screening and analytics in the field of chemical-biotechnological processes
• Adaptation of the process design, e.g. by transferring from batch to continuous processes
• Reactor and module design, construction and manufacturing

Technical plants

• Pilot plants (e.g. power-to-X processes, fuel synthesis, biomass fractionation, fermentation, biocatalysis)
• Chemical and biotechnological processes up to 10 m³ reactor volume
• Extensive equipment for downstream processing and product purification

Industrial process demonstration

• Operation and simulation
• Provision of sample material up to ton scale
• Provision of process data

Fraunhofer Chemistry Alliance

The Fraunhofer Chemistry Alliance pools the complementary expertises of its member institutes in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering and biotechnology, as well as automation, digitization and regulatory issues. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, the alliance supports industrial customers in the development and scale-up of sustainable, innovative products and processes.