Steam reforming of pyrolysis oil using nickel-spinel based catalysis

Introduction – Rationale In many areas worldwide, electricity is mainly produced using fuelled generators or as a supplementary power source. The energy efficiency of those units is typically below 30% excluding production and distribution costs. Replacing the fossil fuels used in electricity production with biofuels will allow for lower carbon print, although the amount of biomass available may not be sufficient in arid areas such as the Canadian arctic. It is therefore necessary to reduce the consumption of the propellant by the unit. Fuel cells, which reach an efficiency of 65%, reduce the amount of fuel required by half. Fuel cells do not use liquid fuels directly, but rather a reformer is included to the device to reform the biofuel into syngas or hydrogen-rich syngas. The challenge with reforming complex molecules into syngas lies with carbon deposition. For example, Chen et al.1 tested the La1-xKxMnO3 catalyst, while Xing et al.2 performed catalysis of Co, Ni and Rh over MgAl2O4 for steam reforming of pyrolytic oil from vegetal and both observed carbon deposition. This work focuses on the steam reforming of pyrolytic oils originating from plastic and vegetal materials as biofuels. A comparison is drawn between the behavior of (a) a nickel-alumina spinel catalyst mixed with yttrium oxide stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and (b) a catalyst made of mine wastes (known as UGS), impregnated with nickel. The NiAl2O4-YSZ catalyst used in this study has already been tested for steam reforming of diesel3-5 and other liquid hydrocarbons6 and dry reforming of methane7-8 while the Ni-UGS catalyst has been tested for dry and steam reforming of methane9. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

A multivariate data analysis approach to tablet sticking on an industrial scale: a qualitative case study of an ibuprofen-based formulation

Abstract: Objectives: Sticking is one of the most common and damaging issues that occur during tablet manufactur- ing. Sticking is the adhesion of powder onto tooling surfaces during compression. Because of the numerous factors involved in its occurrence, understanding tablet sticking requires the simultaneous investigation of these factors to clarify their possible interactions. However, conducting such a study experimentally can pre- sent a significant financial and technical burden. In this study, we aimed to leverage the large amount of data that is usually generated during industrial manufacturing to gain insights into sticking. Methods: This was achieved by collecting and analyzing a total of 71 historical batches that used an ibu- profen-based formulation. We associate each batch with a hundred parameters, including a qualitative descriptor of sticking, and employ a predefined methodology based primarily on multivariate data analysis. Results and Conclusions: Our results highlight the role of lubrication, water content, and the low melt- ing point of ibuprofen in its sticking tendency. Based on these findings, we propose and discuss an indus- trial manufacturing data analysis approach to sticking and its associated systematic methodology, consisting of collection, exploration, and data modeling

Insights into tablet sticking: a quantitative case study with an ibuprofen and methocarbamol-based formulation

Abstract: Objectives and Methods: Tablet sticking is a continuous accumulation of pharmaceutical powder onto tooling surfaces during compression. Its occurrence greatly impacts tablet productivity, quality attributes, and tooling age. In a previous study, the authors proposed a multivariate data analysis approach to gain insights into tablet sticking directly on the industrial stage. The objective was to determine the combin- ation of factors that could help distinguish between batches affected and unaffected by sticking. The pre- sent study aims to generalize this approach by extending it to quantitative predictions of punch sticking intensity. A total of 345 variables was gathered on 28 industrial batches of an ibuprofen and methocarba- mol-based formulation. Result and Conclusion: Using PLS regression models, it was shown that the association of granulation duration and compression force allows to significantly explain 60% of sticking variations of studied for- mulation. In addition, unlike the classification models developed in the earlier work, the validation resi- dues in the present study were found to be normally distributed (Shapiro–Wilks p value = 0.96) and independent from the target variable (R2 = 9.5%)

Monitoring the concentration of flowing pharmaceutical powders in a tableting feed frame

Abstract: The use of process analytical technology (PAT) tools is increasing steadily in the pharmaceutical industry. Such tools are now located throughout the process. When producing tablets, the tableting step itself may be the ideal moment to assess final product composition. Being the last unit operation in tablet production where the elements are still free flowing, it is relatively straightforward to ascertain the composition of the blend in real time. However, a single probe cannot be expected to monitor the composition of every component of a multicomponent blend. In this study, three PAT tools (light-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, near-infrared spectroscopy and color (RGB) imaging) simultaneously checked the composition of powder blends flowing through the feeding unit (feed frame) of a tablet press. The results demonstrate the potential of these tools in monitoring changes in the concentration of a multicomponent mixture in real time, providing users with means to both scrutinize the process and better understand phenomena occurring inside the feed frame

Specificity of process analytical tools in the monitoring of multicomponent pharmaceutical powders

Abstract: The application of Process Analytical Technologies in pharmaceutical manufacturing has been the subject of many studies. Active pharmaceutical ingredient monitoring in real time through- out the manufacturing process is commonly the target of many such implementations. The tools in place must be sensitive to, and selective of, the parameter(s) to be monitored, i.e. in the case of component quantification, they must respond to the component in question and be robust against all others. In this study, four different ingredients (riboflavin, ferrous fumarate, ginseng, and ascorbic acid) in a multi-component blend were monitored by three different tools (near infrared spectroscopy, laser-induced fluorescence and red-green-blue camera) using a full factor- ial design. The goal was to develop efficient and robust concentration-reading/prediction models able to assess and monitor component interference. Despite relatively high complexity of the blend studied, the three tools demonstrated reasonable specificity for the tracked ingredients (and showed advantages when combined), taking into account larger acceptance criteria typical of dietary products. In certain cases, some interference might lead to biased predictions, high- lighting the importance of good calibration. The tools tested and the methodology proposed has divulged their potential in monitoring these components, despite the complexity of the 31- component blend

Developing a quality by design approach to model tablet dissolution testing: an industrial case study

Abstract: This study applied the concept of Quality by Design (QbD) to tablet dissolution. Its goal was to propose a quality control strategy to model dissolution testing of solid oral dose products according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The methodology involved the following three steps: (1) a risk analysis to identify the material- and process-related parameters impacting the critical quality attributes of dissolution testing, (2) an experimental design to evaluate the influence of design factors (attributes and parameters selected by risk analysis) on dissolution testing, and (3) an investigation of the relationship between design factors and dissolution profiles. Results show that (a) in the case studied, the two parameters impacting dissolution kinetics are active pharmaceutical ingredient particle size distributions and tablet hardness and (b) these two parameters could be monitored with PAT tools to predict dissolution profiles. Moreover, based on the results obtained, modeling dissolution is possible. The practicality and effectiveness of the QbD approach were demonstrated through this industrial case study. Implementing such an approach systematically in industrial pharmaceutical production would reduce the need for tablet dissolution testing

Pharmaceutical tablet compression: measuring temporal and radial concentration profiles to better assess segregation

Abstract: Concentration monitoring inside a tablet press feed frame is important not only to assess the composition of the powder blend compressed into tablets but also to detect quality affecting phenomena such as powder segregation. Near infrared spectroscopy has been successfully used to monitor powder concentration inside the feed frame; however, so far, this methodology does not provide information on local spatial variability, since it probes a very small area of powder sample. Near infrared chemical imaging (NIR CI) has the potential to improve process monitoring because it can simultaneously acquire a plurality of spectra covering nearly the entire width of the feed frame, thereby making it possible to detect local variations in powder concentration. The present work uses both NIRS and NIR CI to monitor the concentration of Ibuprofen and Ascorbic acid in multi-component mock pharmaceutical blends flowing through the feed frame of an industrial tablet press. The concentrations of Ibuprofen and Ascorbic acid were successfully monitored in multi-component powder blends. NIR spectral wavelength ranges and pre-treatments were simultaneously optimized via a genetic algorithm. N-way PLS approach for concentration monitoring was found to be more suitable than regular PLS when analyzing spectral images and provided the ability to visualize spatial segregation