TWI has been studying the use of solvents, their wide-ranging industrial application and potential for enhancing process performance since 2007. In recent years and in response to environmental need for viable alternatives to traditional solvent materials, it has focused on developing its expertise in novel or ‘green’ solvents such as ionic liquids, bio-derived solvents, gas-expanded liquids, supercritical fluids and water-based systems. A key focus of the current service offered by the team is to help companies to meet their Technical, Economic and Environmental (TEE) performance targets.
TWI offers a dedicated and independent team of experts comprising solvent and chemical engineers, who can advise and guide Members in the evaluation, selection and/or design of a solvent in response to exact needs. The solvent engineering team uses an optimised proprietary software system to screen large numbers of solvents against predetermined criteria, and also as a design tool to ‘build’ new solvents at a molecular level around specific requirements. Whether it is for replacement of an existing solvent or for new application, the team is able to help with small-scale laboratory testing right through to a pilot-scale test programme.
Solvent selection using modelling software
- 40 variables
- 2500 solvents
- 50,000 binary ionic liquids
- Up to >109 permutations
Functionality
- Molecular modelling
- Solubility parameter/thermodynamic prediction
- Physical, chemical, biological and ecological property database
- Pricing, regulatory and IP database (New solvent development at TWI brings with it the opportunity for progression of foreground intellectual property.)
Case examples
The software selection system has been successfully used to select or design solvents for applications including the extraction of the valuable antimalarial drug artemisinin, the recycling of waste plastic into pure polymers (HiPerPol), the dissolution of cellulose, the selection of media for non-aqueous biocatalysis and the formulation of environmentally friendly agrochemicals. In each case, the selected solvents outperformed the competition both technically and economically and this has been independently and publicly verified.
Key market sectors
- Polymer waste recycling
- Extraction of natural products and metals
- Carbon capture and storage
- Lubricants, heat transfer materials and performance additives
- Crude oil processing
- Nuclear fuel processing
For more information, please contact us.
