Process Development: Bench to Commercialization

Process development -leading a process from bench-scale optimization and characterization through scale-up to piloting and commercialization requires a variety of knowledge and skills for the process development engineer and scientist.  Beyond core competencies (e.g. chemistry, thermodynamics, mass and energy balances, etc.) of those that work in process development teams, there are additional skills that help make a leader efficiently develop an economically viable commercial process.  Prime examples of such skills include:

Design of Experiments (DOE):  DOE uses statistics to design and analyze experiments where multiple factors influence a process, such as media optimization in fermentation process development or optimizing solvents, temperature, and pressure for crystallization in downstream purification.  DOE is critical to develop a robust and reproducible process that yields product of consistent quality.

Project Management:  This skill is useful in organizing moderate to large projects, such as executing a pilot campaign or prioritizing tasks when resources are limited, and is absolutely essential for large capital projects, such as constructing a manufacturing facility.  Project management is a powerful tool for tracking projects, identifying resource limitations, understanding the critical path to project completion, and communicating responsibilities and progress across teams and to management.

Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA):  TEA is needed throughout the lifetime of a project, from concept to commercialization.  It combines mass and energy balances with financial models to determine capital costs, operating costs, KPIs (key performance indicators), to perform sensitivity analysis, and to calculate rate of return on commercializing a product.  TEA is critical in prioritizing R&D activities and making go/no go decisions in addition to building a strong business case to invest in a large capital project, such as building a production facility.

Any organization that plans on taking a new process or new product from proof of concept to commercialization needs experts with such skills to effectively develop and optimize the process, to efficiently manage process development and scale-up, and to understand the technical achievements required to successfully deploy their product.

Large renewable energy and biochemical consulting firms like Lee Enterprises Consulting normally offer a wide range of services in biofuels, biochemicals, biotechnologies, biomaterials, synthetic biology commercialization, feedstocks, and hemp/cannabis.  These companies should have business and financial services like due diligence, feedstock availability, grants and loans and bio market research.  The company also offers technical and engineering related services like techno economic analysis, environmental evaluations, feasibility studies, risk analysis and expert witness engagements.   They might also have strategic partnerships in place to assist clients with insurance, legal, accounting, plant fabrication, feedstock procurement.  

With over 150 experts worldwide, Lee Enterprises Consulting has experts in many specific clean and renewable areas, including anaerobic digestion, fermentation, biomass, conversion technologies for things like tires and railroad ties, organic synthesis, fuel additives, ethanol gas, biodiesel fuel including algae biofuels, solid state and industrial fermentation, green energy grants, ag biotech, agricultural waste, alcohol fuels, alternative proteins and animal-free products, sustainable foods, beverage fermentation, biocatalysis, biodiesel conversion, biogas production, biomass power, carbon intensity, co2 utilization, combined heat & power, Fischer-Tropsch technology, food waste, hydrothermal carbonization, industrial enzymes, landfill management, microbial fermentation, organic synthesis, plastic pyrolysis, plastic recycling, plastic waste, pyrolysis oil, reactor design, renewable identification number, the Renewable Fuel Standard (rfs2), solid recovered fuels, torrefaction and torrefied biomass, waste to energy, and waste-to-hydrogen.   This is a multidisciplinary group of green energy consultants that is a virtual “one stop shop” for any client need and handles projects of all types and sizes.

Look at our experts and the services we provide.  Most of our experts are also available to advise and serve as expert witnesses in bioeconomy litigation matters.  For the larger projects, we specialize in putting together full service, interdisciplinary teams with one point of contact.  See video about LEC here.  Call us at 1+ (501) 833-8511 or email us for more information.