Active ingredient synthesis

In active ingredient synthesis, an active ingredient is produced from starting materials in a targeted manner. The aim is to create a defined chemical structure with reproducible properties. Active ingredient synthesis is a key process in the chemical, pharmaceutical and specialty chemicals industries. A synthesis may consist of several synthetic steps. 

The efficiency of the chemical reaction is determined, among other things, by:

• temperature control 
• the dosage of the reactants
• the mixing efficiency in the reactor 
• the purity of the reactants and, where applicable, 
• catalysis 

The synthesis of active ingredients is often carried out in reactors. In addition to the chemical reaction, mixing, heat transfer and mass transfer play a crucial role. Uniform mixing and controlled temperature regulation are essential for stable reaction conditions.

The actual synthesis is often followed by processing and refinement steps. These include cooling, crystallisation, drying, agglomeration or coating. The aim is to convert the active ingredient into a form suitable for storage and further processing. Synthesis processes are usually concluded with thermal drying. Vacuum contact dryers from amixon® are also used for this purpose. In the blog post 

“amixon® assists with the sizing of large vacuum mixing and drying systems”

explains how to extrapolate results from pilot plant trials (200 litres) to large batch dryers (20 m³).