R&D/Process Scale-up

Introducing new and/or enhanced products and processes involves a significant amount of technical and commercial risk. Businesses must therefore invest in the right expertise to achieve sustainable solutions. Typical drivers include:

• Safer and environmentally compliant process, for example reduced hazardous inventory.

•New Product Development (NPD) and alternative manufacturing routes.

• Improved product quality.

• Reducing capital and operating costs.

Why RB Plant?

RB Plant have a creative approach that treats each client uniquely. We have a range of approaches that includes:

• Scaling down and/or software modelling of existing processes to understand limitations and optimisation opportunities.
• Scaling up lab/pilot processes to commercial manufacture.
• Investigating alternative technologies using Horizon Scanning that client may not be familiar with.
• Enhancing an existing process or developing and implementing a new process from a blank canvas.

We start with a client dialogue to understand not only their business drivers but also the structure of their teams. We communicate pro-actively to pursue a strategy that’s in the client’s best interest whilst keeping strict controls on costs and timescales.

The result being a practical solution that meets the client’s objectives.

What we do

Our systematic approach includes the following:

• Determine client’s goals, for example improved safety, product quality, reduced operating costs.
• Identify all relevant process data to determine most appropriate approach to meet client goals.
• Earmark options each with:
  • Investment analysis showing initial study and equipment costs vs benefit to client.
  • SHE and sustainability considerations.
  • Specification of lab/pilot facility to mirror full-scale plant unit.
  • Limitations of lab/pilot unit.
  • Project program showing required experiments/trials.
  • Reports and recommendations.
• A stage gate process that highlights milestone and project success criteria before proceeding to next stage.
• Program execution including all project and engineering deliverables.

Here are some examples of our services and expertise:

• Commercial and technology value vs risk assessments.
• Reaction, separation, heat transfer, mixing, bulk material handling.
• Design, build, upgrade, commissioning and trialling of lab and pilot scale facilities.
• Supervision and management of equipment suppliers and analytical services.
• Process validation.
• Reviews and studies for:
  • Process optimisation.
  • Process control/automation.
  • Scale-up from lab or pilot to full-scale and batch to continuous manufacture.