Process Systems Enterprise (PSE), providers of the world-leading gPROMS® high-fidelity process modelling environment and related ModelCare® services, today announced the release of its new gCRYSTAL product.
gCRYSTAL provides an integrated, easy-to-use, drag and drop graphical environment for model-based innovation, engineering and optimisation of solution crystallisation processes. The package is aimed at scientists and process engineers in industries where crystallisation processes "´ including precipitation "´ play an integral part, such as pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals and mineral processing, and has been developed with several years of input from leading companies in these sectors.
Uniquely combining ease of use with modelling power, gCRYSTAL provides detailed population balance-based models containing first-principles representations of the complex crystallisation physics and chemistry, as well as facilities for validating models against multiple sets of data from steady-state and dynamic experiments. The resulting high-fidelity predictive models are used to optimise crystallisation process design and operation, determine the optimal process economics subject to product quality constraints and quantify and manage the risks associated with engineering decisions, for both batch and continuous processes.
Dr Sean Bermingham, VP for Strategic Business Development in PSE´s Solids modelling business, says "despite the importance of crystallisation processes to industry and society, there has been a notable lack of effective modelling tools in this area until now. We believe that gCRYSTAL brings a step change to the capabilities available to industry".
Crystallisation processes are notoriously difficult to scale up, and there is often little understanding of the fundamental phenomena occurring, meaning that there is often large scope for process optimisation. Bermingham says, "New model-based techniques now make scale-up from laboratory bench to industrial size much easier and more reliable. In addition, proper quantification makes it possible to achieve higher throughput and better and consistent quality, often with large energy savings". As an example, Friesland Campina reported a 44% reduction in batch time after optimising a cooling crystallisation process for production of pharmaceutical-grade lactose.
gCRYSTAL links with PSE´s gSOLIDS product to support design and optimisation of integrated vapour-liquid-solid processes, including the full downstream solids handling.
