The development of a robust manufacturing process typically involves a joint effort between engineering, mathematical modeling, process chemistry, and analytical chemistry. This presentation describes the optimization of a hydrogenation reaction observed to have variable reaction completion times at manufacturing scale. On-line flow NMR (ReactNMR) was employed to characterize a detailed reaction mechanism and kinetics. Variables of pH and hydrogen pressure were examined to see how they affected the dynamic mechanism and kinetics of the reaction. A mathematical model was developed to gain further understanding of the process kinetics as well as mass transfer limitations. The model was used to predict experimental conditions capable of minimizing the hydrogenation time. This problem solving approach is being broadly adopted to solve complex reaction problems where traditional means don't provide a comprehensive understanding of the process.

Characterizing a hydrogenation reaction through cross-functional collaboration: In-situ NMR and mechanistic modeling

246th National Meeting (2013)

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