(141e) Addition Polymerization Case Study: Process Design and Scale-up at Multiple Sites

Dow Performance Silicones Process R&D (DPSPRD) leads the process design of new silicone polymers to enable their commercialization for demanding markets. DPSPRD follows scale-up best practices and scientific rigor to navigate the challenges commonly seen during process optimization, technology transfer, manufacturing operations, and supply chain constraints.

A recently commercialized silicone polymer will be studied, showcasing challenging scale-up puzzles. The team used design of experiments to ensure to ensure optimal mixing and monomer consumption at all production scales, and then had to adapt the process to match the physical limitations of the various production sites. These measures ensured that the lab results (1 – 2 kg) were going to be replicated at batches 4 – 6 orders of magnitude bigger, while at the same time minimized reaction times and costs.

Additionally, this presentation will focus on efficient operation management at different internal and external manufacturing locations, detailing how the team was able to properly communicate sensitive manufacturing steps to plant operators and engineers, and to resolve differences in analytical capabilities. The combination of these elements resulted in the successful commercialization of this novel silicone polymer in a short timeline.