The deposition of asphaltenes in porous media, an important problem in science and macromolecular engineering, was for the first time investigated in a transparent packed-bed microreactor (μPBR) with online analytics to generate high-throughput information. Residence time distributions of the μPBR before and after loading with ~29 μm quartz particles were measured using inline UV-Vis spectroscopy. Stable packings of quartz particles with porosity of ~40% and permeability of ~500 mD were obtained. The presence of the packing materials reduced dispersion under the same velocity via estimation of dispersion coefficients and the Bodenstein number. Reynolds number was observed to influence the asphaltene deposition mechanism. For larger Reynolds numbers, mechanical entrapment likely resulted in significant pressure drops for less pore volumes injected and less mass of asphaltenes being retained under the same maximum dimensionless pressure drop. The innovation of packed-bed microfluidics for investigations on asphaltene deposition mechanisms could contribute to society by bridging macromolecular science with microsystems.

in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com)Understanding asphaltene nanoaggregation kinetics is a key to predicting the deposition in pure quartz-grain porous media. High-throughput quartz packed-bed microreactors (lPBRs) were, therefore, designed to provide mechanistic insights by merging oilfield chemistry and microchemical systems. In-line UV-Vis spectroscopy and pressure transducer were used to characterize the stable packing of quartz particles with porosity of $40% and permeability of $5.5 3 10 213 m 2 . Temperature (25.0-90.0 C), n-heptane composition (50.0-80.0 vol %), and n-alkane (n-C 5 to n-C 9 ) were all observed to influence asphaltenes deposition in the porous media, and reduced dispersion was obtained in the damaged packed-bed by estimating dispersion coefficients and the Bodenstein number. Deposition by mechanical entrapment dominated the mechanism in all scenarios, as discovered by the simplified Kozeny-Carman and Civan's permeability-porosity relationships. The results could aid in the design of remediations that minimize production losses of considerable economic magnitude.

Modular assembly line: a promising approach to reduce drug shortages, assure quality, and improve affordability.

The pharmaceutical industry faces multiple challenges (e.g., inefficient manufacturing techniques, quality control issues, and supply chain vulnerabilities) because of its current batch-wise approach to manufacturing. Recent regulatory support for continuous manufacturing and advances in continuous process technologies have caused an increase in interest from some drug manufacturers to modernize their production processes. However, many of these companies have focused on hybrid processes, where only certain steps are continuous, while others remain batch. Herein, the quality by design (QbD)-based design strategy and operation of an end-to-end integrated continuous manufacturing (ICM) pilot plant that produces both small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and oral solid dosages (OSDs) are discussed. Additionally, important quality and economic matters pertaining to scale-up and commercialization are addressed. ICM has significant benefits, including better quality control, increased supply chain flexibility, a lower capital investment (in the example provided, a ∼ 90% reduction), and lower operating costs (in the example provided, a 33.6% reduction for API and 29.4% reduction for tablets).

The continuous reactive crystallization of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in a plug flow reactor (PFR)-continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) cascade system with in-line PATs was developed and investigated. Residence...