A three-day course in Downstream Processing – Unit Operations in the Chemical and Biochemical Industry – with presentations by Grundfos and AlfaLaval

Online course in CET time zone

Industrial training addressing technicians as well as process engineers working in the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotech and/or food industry

Target group & outcome

Through presentations, exercises and plenum discussions participants will acquire solid knowledge of downstream processing and the numerous associated unit operations with focus on the design principles, operations and equipment setup. Participants will further be introduced to simple calculations and estimations of benefit in the daily work.

The course runs for three consecutive days with alternating presentations, exercises and plenum discussions. The course is held in English.

Main topics taught in the course

  • Introduction to unit operations and Downstream processing
  • Engineering principles and theories
  • Solid/liquid separation—principles and equipment
  • Filtration and membrane processes
  • Mixing of liquids/Mixing of solids
  • Process economy and bottle neck identification
  • Drying processes and heat transmission
  • Case examples from industry
  • Calculation exercises and first-principle models

Detailed agenda (see more info in the Course flyer)

Day 1:

Subject
10.00 – 10.15 Course introduction, participant introduction and setting the scene for expectations.Introduction of the scientific pocket calculator with small examples.
10.15 – 12.00 Introduction to ”downstream processing”, What does “Unit Operations” cover and what is the overall goal? (quantity or quality?), Introduction to the four main processes (First separation, product concentration, purification, polishing).Fundamental calculations for correct equipment dimensioning: mass balances, notations and flow diagrams, batch and continuous systems.
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.00 – 14.00 Introduction to liquid and gas flow: Reynold´s number, Ideal fluids, Bernoullis´ equation, Poiseulles law, friction factor and coefficient, hydraulic diameter, how to measure flow.
14.00 – 15.00 Theory of pumps: Designs and principles of operation, advantages and disadvantages of the different types.
15.00 – 16.30 Novel innovations in pump designs – case stories presented by 

Day 2:

Subject
9.00 – 10.00 Mixing and stirring of fluids, stirrer types and their use: advantages/disadvantages. Mixing and blending of solids, segregation issues and how to solve them.
10.00 – 12.00 Filtration: Introduction to filtration processes and principles, Filtration theory, Equipment principles, capacity and what to consider when optimising and finding the right filtration method, Examples from industry.
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.00 – 15.00 Membrane processes, Reverse Osmosis, Ultrafiltration, Microfiltration, Electrodialysis, Equipment and areas of use, Membrane materials and efficiency, What to consider when optimising the process, Examples from the industry.
15.00 – 16.30 Novel innovations in the separation industry – case stories presented by 

Day 3:

Subject
9.00 – 10.45 Solid/fluid separation, Sedimentation processes, Particle terminal velocity and Stokes law, Thickeners, Sieving, Solid/gas separation, Cyclones and fluidisation
10.45 – 12.00 Solid/fluid separation continued: Centrifuges, Decanters, Drum filtration and mechanical separators
12.00 – 13.00 Lunch
13.00 – 13.30 Process economy in Downstream Processing.
13.30 – 15.00 Drying processes, Moisture in air, Mollier diagrams (H-X diagrams), Conditioning of air, Introduction to drying equipment, principles of operation and calculation of drying velocity
15.00 – 16.00 Heat transmission. Theory and terms, heat conduction & convection, heat exchangers, equipment and design principles. General transport phenomena analogies to mass, volume and momentum transport
16.00 Final remarks, Course diplomas, Course evaluation

Teachers

Søren Beier, M.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), Ph.D. Peter Dybdahl Hede, M.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), Ph.D.
   
  • Sen. Manager in the Biotech. industry
  • Experience from the Biotech. and Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Teaching experience from Technical University of Denmark
  • Founder and co-owner of Bagsværd Liquorice
  • Director in Pharma R&D
  • Teaching experience from The Danish Society of Engineers, Technical University of Denmark and numerous in-service training courses
  • Provides consultancy and engineering training courses and seminars
Guest speakers:

Fee and registration

The course fee is payable in advance either via direct deposit (details included in the invoice) or via credit card payment available upon online registration at our homepage.

The course fee includes all course presentations, calculation exercises and solutions, selected scientific papers as well as course diploma (all in PDF format).

All course material is available for download well in advance of the course.

Per delegate EUR 1975,- plus VAT. VAT is reclaimable.