Disposable Reactors

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Disposable reactors are here. According to ICIS, Marlborough, MA, based Xcellerex is offering disposable bioreactors for biologics manufacture.  These single-use reactors are available in the 40-2000 Liter working volume range.  The company offers several reasons for why their product might be desirable. They argue that more time will be available for productive reactor operation as opposed to having production down part of the time for reactor cleanout and validation.

The battle for high throughput moves to a new level. Xcellerex states that the installed capital cost is ca 1/2 that of hardpiped reactors. They make the case that delays due to cleaning are reduced and that plant time is used more efficiently.  

Monte Carlo Analysis

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Th’ Gaussling is surfing the net looking at freeware. The possibilities are amazing. It’s like I’ve crawled up from underground onto a sunny Brazilian beach full of nubile sunbathers frolicking in the waves. It’s all just too wonderful to be true …

[sound of needle scratching across record]

So I’m new to Monte Carlo simulations. I have some economic modeling to do and it has become apparent to me that mere spreadsheet grinding isn’t enough.  To make a more convincing case I need to introduce plausible cost variances somehow by mixing and blending various kinds of guesswork distribution curves from the elements of the project. There is a particular Project Risk and Contingency Analysis software that seems reasonable to start with. It would be interesting to hear of experiences others may have had with Monte Carlo project modeling.

Ear to the Ground

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My comments on recession come strictly from news and from petrochemical industry publications. I have not seen any indication that manufacturing of specialty chemicals (at least in the waters I swim in) are as yet affected by the economic turmoil that the lending fiasco triggered. Eventually orders will taper some, but the how much and when is not at all clear.

It takes a while for the effects of a downturn to filter upstream to all sectors of chemical manufacturing. The first effects will likely be a pushback on delivery of existing orders. Then, the period between succesive orders will lengthen as businesses closer to the consumers will start to trim down inventories and throughput.  Finally, sales forecasts will begin to report spotty sales projections 2 or 3 quarters out. Eventually, you run into those weak quarters and have to find a way to limp through them.

The important question relating to petrochemicals (aromatics, naphtha, ethylene, propylene, etc) is where does price elasticity really kick in for hydrocarbon intensive goods as crude prices continue to rise and the dollar continues to devalue? 

Packaging materials like PE, PS, and PP, etc. are very often not the primary product consumers are looking for. They are produced for sellers of consumer goods as packaging materials. The purchasing decision maker is not the person strolling down the isles of Wal-Mart, but rather the product manufacturers who have to package the goods. 

This economic disturbance seems unique. Demand from the global middle class is growing as the US economy falters.  Demand for hydrocarbon fuels and manufacturing feedstocks is strong from Asia for their own consumption. But Asian production is also strongly linked to the demand of their products from the west. Predicting how this thing plays out is very tricky. 

Polymer membranes, HDPE pipe, PVC pipe, automotive assemblies and fascia are all large consumers of hydrocarbon products. Demand for these materials, obviously, should parallel the health of construction and automotive industries. But as the US transitions to a net importer of polymers, the connection to US economics is murky.

I suppose the best business to be in is war profiteering and security, at least as long as a war president is in office. It seems to be shielded from the raw forces of economics. As long as the gov’t can print money, special interests can be paid.  A good career would be as a translator between Arabic and Mandarin.

Some Men Like Cheese

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If you appreciate the famous cantata Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, you’ll love this interpretation. It is not a small download, but it is worth it.

Enjoyed a decent local production of Guys and Dolls last night. The parts of Miss Adelaide and Sister Sarah Brown (soprano) were particularly well played. The soprano could really belt it out- It was spectacular.  I shared the table with a theatre director and a quantum physicist. Interesting mix.

Platinum Group Metals Update

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14 March, 2008. As the deepening US gravity well continues to tug at the recession asteriod that is looming ever larger in the sky, we see a steady line of investors boarding Platinum Group Metal (PGM) investment vehicles for immediate launch off this doomed planet. 

Monday and friday opening EIB prices over the week of 3/10/08 thru 3/14/08.

Silver–  US$19.70/toz;  US$20.77/toz.

Gold–  US$971.55/toz;  US$1,0005.86/toz

Palladium–  US$470.00/toz;  US$516.00/toz

Platinum–  US$1,960.00/toz;  US$2,110.00/toz

The geology of PGM deposits is quite interesting. There are numerous resources detailing the Bushveld Igneous Province (or Complex) in South Africa. Check it out.

Green Innovation Lag

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It is not unusual for a long time to elapse between an initial customer inquiry and when commercial quantities of product are loaded on the truck and driven out the gate. I have seen it happen over 1 to 10 years, with 3 years being quite common. The chemical industry is not like the semiconductor business. The paradigm shift period seems much longer. In fact, any given chemical processing technology can last for a large part of a career or more. The last big chemical paradigm shift I have noticed is high throughput experimentation (HTE).  Maybe others have a more recent example.

Green chemistry is considered by many to be a new frontier of opportunity. To its detriment, many of us are unsure of what green chemistry really is and how to implement it in manufacturing. Realistically, for green chemistry to find wide acceptance, it needs to turn a profit or offer some kind of concrete advantage. Pollution avoidance is too abstract. For any new method or technology, there must be a payoff.

It seems simple. Reduce VOC emissions by using aqueous solvent compositions. Increase atom efficiency in transformations. Minimize persistant pollutants, organic or metal. Increase space yields, reduce consumables.  Green chemistry is not so easily demonstrated to the public and it may not be in the public domain. Your green technology may be proprietary, so the ballyhoo factor will collapse to zero. The processor may have to labor down the green path in silence.   

A process changeover to a green process may require many people in several companies to align to the change like compass needles to the north pole. A chemical process change must offer some kind of improvement that, by consensus, is meritorious. There is a good chance that the change will require notification of the customer and possibly even their permission. Customers often want a price concession when there is a process change so they can capture some of the value, so this may mean reduced sales volume and profits for the processor.

The customer may require that the proposed process change will be cause for a new validation of their customers product, in which case, the final user will also have to perform a validation.   In all likelihood, you are proposing a green change to a process that previously offered no problem to the downstream users.

Obviously, the time for green process implementation is at the very beginning of process development. The development chemist must have an existing toolbag of techniques, transformations, and reagents to choose from to go forward with implementation. The best way to get to this point is with curriculum change at the university level. Chemists need to have green chemistry awareness from the beginning of their training. Converting souls when they are already within industry is the hard way to do it.

Microscale labs in the undergrad experience maybe green for the university, but it is hard to see how it translates to the implementation of green technology in industry. The green revolution must come from textbooks that use green transformations in chemistry and engineering coursework. It must come from professors who weave it into their lectures and provide examples of such transformations and practices in the lab experience.

Chemists and engineers from such backgrounds must move into industry and become group leaders and managers. Only at this point will green chemistry become “normal” and expected.

Dark Sky

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One year ago a couple of us from the observatory gave a presentation before our town board in support of an ordinance for outdoor lighting. The proposal was along the lines of that used by the city of Tucson, AZ. It is really just a type of tweaking of the town architectural standards and is promoted by IDA, the International Dark Sky Association.

A draft of the document was developed and approved by the town board of trustees just tonight. It will come up for a vote in the next meeting. Based on tonights meeting, it should pass readily.

This is the first time a law has been passed where Th’ Gaussling wasn’t some kind of negative example.  Maybe I should have spent my 15 minutes of fame in some other way. Hmmm.

And then I woke up

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And it came to pass that a Being appeared to Th’ Gaussling one afternoon in the laboratory. But this was not a Being in the league of the Angel Michael or Gabriel. This was a somewhat lesser Being. Call him “Ed”. 

While Th’ Gaussling was tending to some matter in the lab, the Being Ed made his presence known by speaking through the vacuum line.

“Gauss-ling“, hissed the disembodied voice through the Buchner filter.

Gaussling startled, dropping a few grams of precious crystals on the benchtop, and looked in full circle around him trying to find the source of the voice.  Puzzled, Gaussling stood still for a few moments listening for more sound and then, with a shrug, began to clean up the mess.

“Gaussling, I’m down here” said the voice, a bit more impatiently. “Set the spatula down and look in the filter”.

Sensing a practical joke, Gaussling replied sarcastically “Bugger off! I’m busy. Buncha NIM-rods …”.

With unmistakable urgency, the voice commanded “Look in the Filter!” At that moment, the vacuum pump changed its sound to a quiet tap-tap-tap, indicating that the pressure had dropped. The mercury column in the manometer collapsed and the pump noise became just a whisper.

Gaussling promptly stopped what he was doing and leaned towards the Buchner filter while scanning sideways for pranksters. But the room was empty and the voice had a decidedly raspy edge to it now. As Gaussling peered into the filter he noticed that a voice appeared to eminate from the vibrating filter paper. As the funnel spoke, crystal fragments danced across the flat paper like rice on a snare drum. Gaussling froze and couldn’t manage a breath.

“What do you want?”, Gaussling gasped.  “How can this be happening? Who are you?”

“You may call me Ed. Some of your kind have referred to my species as ‘Angel’ “, Ed replied matter-of-factly. “I think you’ll find that description to be inaccurate.” 

At that moment Ed apparated beside Gaussling in front of the fume hood. There was a rattling pop and the crackle of static discharge with a brown puff of nitrogen dioxide and ozone. Disconcertingly to the traveler, this type of conveyance caused the accumulation of static charge. Gaussling momentarily wondered how many Coulombs of static an Angel could withstand, but then snapped back to matter at hand. 

Still quite shocked, Th’ Gaussling managed to squeek out a few questions. “How did you do that? Where are you from? What do you mean by Angel?”

Ed was always annoyed with such questions. The gosh-wow-sense-of-wonder reaction from these creatures wore thin after a while. As Ed took a moment to adapt to the atmosphere and the pressure, Gaussling looked up and down at the visitor.  It was apparently a he from the outward mannerisms and dress.  Gaussling wouldn’t push the issue of gender right away.

“Dear fellow” Ed said in an impatient and distinctly British tone, “would you kindly relax and set that bottle down? I need to speak with you.  I’m only able to stay for a moment. This kind of travel causes extreme parity violations in the cosmos and is possible only by rather large energy consumption elsewhere, not to mention great discomfort for me.”

“So, you’re Ed? ” Gaussling said awkwardly. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a gift for you,” Ed replied in a matter of fact tone and reached inside his vest. “In fact, here it is.”

Ed pulled out a small vial that appeared to be of glass construction. At the bottom of the glass vial was a powder. It was unremarkable in every way and initially resembled ten thousand other colorless powders.

Ed held up the small vial and grinned. “See, here it is. Oh, my my my. You are going to be very amused.” He could barely contain his glee. Ed held the vial up toward the light but now the powder appeared somewhat different. Gaussling thought he saw a faint iridescent glint to it. A flash of a shimmer of spectrum against the cold fluorescent lights.

“I have come a long distance to give this to you. It is a substance capable of great wonders for those with the curiosity and wisdom to use it properly. But it is also capable of doing great harm. Soon you will see.”

Gaussling stood there, attentive but unable to utter a single word. After a few moments, Gaussling sputtered “What does it do?” 

Ed stood for a moment and then gushed with great delight, “I though you’d never ask. Get me a flask with some liquid in it, any liquid.”

Gaussling grabbed a 250 mL beaker and splashed a bit of acetone in it- 50 mL or so. Gaussling handed the beaker to Ed.

“Gaussling, I am going to put a single crystal of this substance into your liquid. Watch …” And with that fluorish, Ed expertly shook a single crystal of this substance into the beaker. The result was immediate and spectacular.

As Gaussling watched in amazement, the list of uses washed over his mind like a storm surge over a levee.  “How can this be happening?” Gaussling gasped.

Sugammadex Buzz for Organon

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There is a new kind of buzz in the anesthesia community these days. News of a “selective” muscle relaxant binding agent hit the web in a big way. Even Forbes made notice. Sugammadex, a proprietary cyclodextrin available from Organon, has the ability to bring post-operative patients out from under the influence of muscle relaxant drugs rapidly and safely. It does this by host-guest coordination of drug molecules in the blood stream, effectively lowering the blood titer of active drug. The cyclodextrin acts as a kind of sheath or molecular condom to prevent binding of the certain active relaxant drugs to the receptors. The results are apparently startling to the numbing and gas passing community.