Scaling Up the Manufacturing of Sustainable Surfactants Through Fermentation
Context
The Next Rung Technology Team was brought on to help a Biotech company scale up their production of sustainable surfactants. When they were brought on, the production capacity ranged from 500-2500 gallons per batch at 3rd party sites. The company was also evaluating a major bio-production facility for acquisition to make their product on a commercial scale.
Process
To help the Biotech company scale, the Next Rung Technology team went into action:
Patent Review
We first reviewed the patents related to the surfactants to gain understanding of the process. The patents was the blueprint for steps forward.
Process Flow Diagrams
After reviewing the patents, Next Rung process engineers created low-fidelity process flow diagrams to illustrate each step of the process and see where potential bottlenecks might lie in the process.
Material Balances and Industrial Process Design
After mapping out the process on a high level, our process engineers did a deep dive on what equipment would be required to facilitate the production process at different scales.
We mapped out how the material ratios and equipment capacity would change as the scale grew step-by-step. We leveraged physics calculations to define the exact pressures being exerted on the equipment at different scales and equipment sizes.
Then, we overlaid these details onto the initial process flow diagram to make it clear to the client what equipment and balance of materials were needed at each scale.
Capital Cost and Equipment Evaluation
After our team figured out the equipment capacity required for the desired scale, they researched specific equipment to procure. They solicited proposals from manufacturers and performed a cost-benefit analysis based on the capital cost of the equipment and how well it matched the needed specifications.
On top of the equipment evaluations, we also created accurate estimates of the total capital that would be required to reach and maintain the desired scale.
“This was the best exercise I’ve ever seen in estimating costs around a plant retrofit or design.”
Scaleup
After we created the detailed processes, equipment lists, and capital requirements necessary to reach the next scale, the brunt of the work began.
Our team developed a project schedule that guided execution on retrofitting the plant to the specifications outlined in the previous deliverables. Their accurate deliverables lead to a scale-up that was under budget and within the desired timeline.
Outcomes
After working with Next Rung Technology, the client company was able to:
Create a game plan for cost effective reuse of an existing facility to use for a new service, while completing significant scale-up of their technology
Scale the client company’s production capacity by 800%, with a new capacity of 4,000 – 100,000 gallons per batch after the retrofit.
