Final Report Summary - CRYSYS (Crystallisation Systems Engineering – Towards a next generation of intelligent crystallisation systems)
The pharmaceutical, biotechnological, food, microelectronics, fine and bulk chemical industries are currently challenged by the needs to comply with more stringent product requirements, fast changing market and the need for reduction of energy demand and production costs. This applies particularly to the production of crystalline products, which is one of the most important economic activities in these industries. To meet these needs, the industry requires crystallisation processes which are flexible, easy to scale up and energy and cost efficient. The production of more than 70% of all solid products involves crystallisation, which can have significant effect on the overall performance of the entire production process and the properties of the final product. In this project an intelligent and automated crystallization process monitoring and control system is developed, which can take appropriate actions to ensure better control of crystal purity, size and shape distribution as well as polymorphic form, making sure that the final products will have desired properties (e.g. activity, stability, bioavailability). These approaches use the information from a combination of measurement technologies and implement novel control concepts that use complex mathematical models of the crystallization processes or manipulate the operating trajectory in the phase diagram where the crystallization behaviour is better controlled. The mathematical models can predict the future behaviour of the crystallization process and are used in numerical optimization and model predictive control frameworks for the better design and operation of batch and continuous crystallization systems for the production of crystalline materials with tailor made properties. The key outputs of the project enable process intensification and allow the more efficient and greener production of crystalline products with better purity and solid properties.