(564a) Strategies in the Sustainable Design of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients for Solvent Recovery Systems

The Chemical Engineering Department at Rowan University has partnered with several pharmaceutical companies and the US EPA to explore more sustainable pathways in the manufacturing of active ingredients and to educate future generations of engineers and decision makers in the importance of green engineering in pharmaceutical syntheses.  The conducted research has evaluated greener designs for solvent recovery targeting not only the reduction of the overall solvent consumption,  but the associated waste, and life cycle emissions from cradle to gate.  These studies have explored greener separation processes and greener solvents using both LCA and economic metrics.  Software has been developed to guide decision making and optimize processes based on these desired outcomes.  When integrated correctly, solvent recovery is a viable option to reduce significantly the carbon footprint of drug synthesis as well as operating costs.  Life cycle analysis of pharmaceutical manufacturing routes involving solvents such as acetonitrile, isopropanol, methanol, tetrahydrofuran, and methyltetrahydrofuran have been conducted.  This paper will present the approaches taken to determine the optimal application of greener technologies to minimize emissions and make pharmaceutical manufacturing more sustainable.