Laboratory for Automation and Measurement

Prof. Bolf and research assistant Josip Sacher gave a lecture at the 65 th Technical Meeting – EFCE Working Party on Fluid Separations , on June 12, 2023 at the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb. The lecture dealt with the topic of process analytical technology (PAT) for real-time crystallisation control. Following the lecture, the participants of the symposium were shown the Laboratory for Automation and Measurement as well as the principle of PAT and its application on a laboratory scale in the crystallisation reactor.

Research assistant Josip Sacher attended EuroPACT 2023, European Conference on Process Analytics and Control Technology , held in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 7-10 2023. There he presented his work on monitoring supersaturation in crystallisation processes and shared his experiences with other researchers in the field. His research was presented in a paper entitled Use of process analytical technology for monitoring supersaturation during cooling crystallisation of pharmaceuticals.

Within the framework of the 28 th Croatian Meeting of Chemists and Chemical Engineers , we organized the workshop Process Analytical Technology in Real-Time Control . The workshop addressed the practical aspects of PAT and provided participants with a comprehensive understanding of its functionality and limitations. In the first part of the workshop, industry partners demonstrated the benefits of using PAT in their respective fields. In the second part of the workshop, two case studies were presented on the development and application of PAT for advanced process control. Our guest lecturers from usePAT , Siemens , Pliva/Teva , and researchers from the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology presented their research and state-of-the-art concepts. At the end of the workshop, a remote connection was established with the Siemens Living Lab in Vienna. The workshop was aimed to researchers and practitioners in the field of chemical engineering – pharmaceuticals and fine chemistry who would like to learn about the latest developments in chemometrics and process control.

In February and March, we conducted APC-1, APC-2, and APC-3 hands-on training for INA Rijeka oil refinery employees. Participants gained knowledge of basic and advanced methods of process control, as well as process diagnostics and optimization. During the courses, real examples of refinery processes were analysed interactively with advanced process control simulators. During the training, an interesting discussion developed on the specific problems encountered in industrial production. We thank the engineers of the refinery for the pleasant atmosphere.

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”.