ACS GCI pharmaceutical roundtable roadmap implementation: Process intensification and electrification

Abstract: After a synthetic method or route to produce an API has been defined, chemists and engineers collaborate to design a scalable process capable of delivering the API in the desired amount and quality. As a process is designed and fit to equipment and a manufacturing facility there is enormous scope to influence productivity, energy consumption, and overall processing time, all of which contribute to the environmental footprint of API production. Process and facility energy consumption are significant contributors to the environmental footprint of API manufacturing, especially for APIs produced through bioprocesses where energy-intensive clean room production environments tend to drive environmental footprint. In this presentation will highlight this initiative which aims to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts related to energy consumption by reducing energy demand through process intensification and meeting remaining energy demand with renewable electricity. Two complementary strategies for electrifying API manufacturing are considered here: 1. Facility & equipment changes to enable electrification; and 2. Process changes to enable electrification Implementation of the ACS GCI PR roadmap to define a path to produce Net-Zero APIs while minimizing other hazards to human health and the environment within the next two decades.