Laboratory for Automation and Measurement

On February 28, our team visited the Research Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering (RCPE) in Graz. The RCPE is one of the leading pharmaceutical engineering research institutions in Europe. We learned about research areas and ongoing projects. We shared our expertise on PAT applications for monitoring and controlling crystallization processes. Then we toured the characterization and analytical laboratory as well as the pilot plant. This visit was very informative and productive, and we look forward for collaborations with the RCPE under the Horizon and InterReg programs.

On February 21, we visited Politecnico di Torino , one of the best technical universities in Europe. Our host was Prof. Elena Simone and her team. After the introductory presentations of the research areas, M. Gavran and J. Sacher gave a workshop on modern methods in crystallization research. The workshop covered both theoretical and practical aspects of batch crystallization and provided the participants with the main concepts and techniques in this field. Following the workshop, we visited the new crystallization and freeze-drying research laboratories recently built on campus.

On January 30 and 31, our team visited the Budapest University of Technology and Economics led by Prof. Botond Szilagyi and his team. On the first day of the visit, Prof. Szilagyi held a workshop on crystallization modelling and control, where the methods for solving population equilibrium were presented and their application was demonstrated. The next day was reserved for visiting other chemical engineering research groups at the university. We took the opportunity to exchange research experiences and discuss collaboration for upcoming projects.

In December, we visited the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Campus North. With our friendly hosts we visited the Institute for Biological and Chemical Systems ( https://www.ibcs.kit.edu/english/index.php ), the Institute for Microprocess Engineering ( https://www.imvt.kit.edu/index.php ), the Institute for Nanotechnology (https://www.int.kit.edu/) and the Energy Lab 2.0 ( https://www.elab2.kit.edu/english/index.php ). An extensive tour of the site provided us with useful insights and contacts with potential future employees. On the second day, we visited the Siemens Industrial Park with our colleagues, where we discussed the latest digitization concepts in the process industry.

SPS – Smart Production Solutions is one of the largest international automation trade shows. The fair gathers the leading companies of the automation industry from Germany and from abroad. At the very well-attended fair, drive systems and components, control systems, interfaces, sensors, industrial communication and infrastructure, software and information technology in general were showed. We visited a number of booths and talked to potential partners. Further cooperation was agreed with Aveva and Siemens in the areas of design, advanced process control and development of process analysis technology.

Research assistant Matea Gavran and prof. Bolf participated in a TC24 Chemical Measurements conference organized by the International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO) . We shared our knowledge of process analytical technology as well as our experience with various spectroscopic measurements for in situ concentration measurements in solutions. In the poster section, we presented the paper “In-situ Solution Concentration Measurement Techniques in the Crystallization Process”.

We participated in the Networking @ Siemens Pharma event on September 22, 2022 at Siemens City Vienna. Prof. Nenad Bolf gave an interesting presentation: Application of PAT &QbD in Crystallization Process Control . Most of the presentations focused on digital transformation in the pharmaceutical industry. After the useful presentations, we visited the Siemens Living Lab and made important business contacts during the networking dinner.

Under the organization of the National Association of Chemists and Chemical Engineers of Spain (ANQUE) , the 9 th World Congress on Particle Technology (WCPT9) ( https://wcpt9.org/ )was held in Madrid, Spain. With more than 600 participants from 35 countries, it covered virtually all areas related to particle technology. Our team member Matea Gavran attended and gave an oral presentation in the Crystallization and Precipitation section.

Toulouse Graduate School of Chemical, Materials, and Industrial Engineering ( ENSIACET – French: École nationale supérieure des ingénieurs en arts chimiques et technologiques ) is one of the largest educational institutions for chemical engineering and technology in Europe. As part of the networking, we visited the laboratories and held meetings with the head of the chemical engineering laboratory, the head of the crystallization laboratory and the head of the biotechnology laboratory to discuss possible collaboration related to the application of PAT in advanced process control.

We participated with two poster presentations at the 19 th Ružička Days, Today Science – Tomorrow Industry conference, held in Vukovar, September 21–23, 2022. Josip Sacher presented the results of his research on determining the optimal cooling profile of a batch cooling crystallizer ( PDF ). Željka Ujević-Andrijić presented her research on data-driven estimation of critical quality attributes in industrial processes ( PDF ).