(344d) Evaluating Pervaporation As an Enabling Technology in Pharmaceutical Processing

Pervaporation is a proven membrane technology that can allow for selective removal of solvent/s from a mixture. Hydrophilic pervaporation membranes have been successfully applied to the dehydration of several solvents, beyond azeotropic compositions. However, pervaporation has seldom been applied to manufacturing processes in the pharmaceutical industry.

Azeo-drying or chase distillation operations for water removal are quite common in the pharmaceutical industry. In this work, we will present the application of pervaporation to replace these distillations to significantly reduce the solvent consumption and subsequent waste generation. The process development in the lab scale and its rational, model-based transfer to pilot scale will be discussed. The impact of different operating modes such as inert gas sweep on the permeate side, pressurizing the feed, and effect of co-solvents to increase the activity co-efficient of water will be discussed. Finally, the challenges associated with implementation of a pilot-scale unit and their potential resolution will be highlighted.

Disclosure:

Akshay Korde, Christopher Vitale, James Ratway, Jie Chen, Sharad Maheshwari, Manish Kelkar, Eric Moschetta, and Nandkishor Nere are employees of AbbVie. All authors may own AbbVie stock. AbbVie sponsored and funded the study; contributed to the design; participated in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, and in writing, reviewing, and approval of the final publication.