Sustainable Industrial Process Innovation and Scale-up – Advanced Course

Sustainable Industrial Process Innovation and Scale-up

Advanced Course

Course conductor Jan Harmsen

 

Course description

This course is about reliable sustainable process innovation and scale-up for all stages, Ideation, Concept, Feasibility, Development, Engineering-Procurement Construction (EPC), and Commercial scale start-up. For each stage  critical success factors to reduce risks are explained with industrial examples. Participants in small groups apply the theory provided in workshops solving real cases. In this way the knowledge is made operational, and participants interact with each other so that their own experiences (tacit knowledge) are revealed and enhanced.

For the ideation stage methods to generate large number of innovative process options and select most promising are treated. When applied in the participants industrial environment these methods facilitate patent generation, by which the risk that other companies develop a better process is reduced.

For the concept stage Process Intensification design methods such as process function generation and process function integration are treated by which break-through innovative process designs can be made. Also, the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN in concept design are treated, so that the sustainable design contributes to People, Planet, Prosperity goals.

For the feasibility stage the scale-up part of the course starts. Pilot plant design and commercial scale design and their relations between scale-up and scale-down are explored and rules for when and when not an integrated pilot plant is needed are provided. Also purchasing novel technology using Technology Readiness Level (TRL) assessments and potential pitfalls will be treated.

For the feasibility stage also Unit Operations scale-up methods using Critical Performance Phenomena, mixing, residence time distribution, mass transfer, and heat transfer are treated. In addition,  5 scale-up methods and their selection for each scale-up case are treated in detail.

For the development stage experimental hot testing and cold testing options are presented.

For the EPC stage the choice of an EPC contractor for the specific process type is treated.

For the start-up preparation the 10 Rules for reliable Scale-up are explained and real start-up cases, both failures and successes are highlighted.

 

Key topics

  • Scale-up risks of processes;
  • Stage-gate innovation steps to reduce risks;
  • Connections between design, modelling, and experimental validation;
  • Pilot plant design and test program decisions;
  • Start-up preparation;
  • Technology Readiness Levels assessment for purchasing new process technologies;
  • Scale-up performance phenomena of unit operations;
  • Scale-up methods for unit operations.

Key takeaways

  • Identification of critical aspects of integrated process scale-up;
  • Knowing how to choose best process and unit operations in view of scale-up;
  • Interactive lectures;
  • Interaction with peers in workshops solving real industry problems;
  • Course Certificate.

 

Course set up

Day 1

Overview scale-up from idea to commercial implementation

  • Course set-up and getting to know each other
  • Scale-up failure statistics and problems
  • Stage-gate models
  • Technology Readiness Levels
  • Group exercise TRL determination

Integral Process Scale-up

Ideation stage

  • Process concept idea generation using Functional Process Steps
  • Generation of Functional Process Steps connecting feeds to product streams
  • Filling FPS by structured brainstorm-writing
  • Evaluating and ranking all process concept ideas
  • Group exercise: make FPS

Concept stage

  • Process concept design by Functional Process Steps
  • Filling Process Steps by function integration
  • Filling Process steps by established Process Intensified building blocks
  • Evaluating the concept design with Sustainable Development Goals Unit Nations

Feasibility stage

  • Decision on integrated pilot plant by failure statistics correlation and economics
  • Pilot plant down-scaled design and commercial scale design
  • Selecting Engineering Construction contractor
  • Group exercise: Pilot plant decision

Development stage and EPC stage

  • Designing pilot plant test program
  • Front End Engineering Design
  • Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) Contractor selection

Day 2

Start-up stage

  • 10 rules for successful start-up
  • Start-up leader and team composition
  • Start-up plan
  • Predicting start-up
  • Industrial case group exercise

Unit Operations Scale-up

Critical Performance Factors of unit operations

  • Mixing
  • Residence time distribution
  • Mass transfer
  • Heat transfer
  • Impulse transfer
  • Group exercise: Determine relevant CPF for industrial case

Unit Operations Scale-up methods  

  • Numbering up scale-up
  • Dimensionless numbers correlations scale-up
  • Modelling scale-up
  • Empirical scale-up
  • Hybrid modelling – empirical
  • Scale-up method applications for reactors and separators
  • Group exercise: Select scale-up method for industrial case

Course Round-up

  • How to use course information for own work
  • Certificates
  • Evaluation

 

 

Practical information

Two-day Course Schedule to facilitate travel

Tuesday           25 November              11.00 – 17 h

Wednesday     26 November              09.30 – 15 h

Course Location

Delft, The Netherlands, less than 40 minutes by train from Schiphol airport. Details of course venue will be shared with participants. 

Who should attend?

Process researchers, process developers, process engineers,  plant technologists,   start-up company leaders, group leaders, department heads in R&D. Formal education is less important than eagerness to learn new scale-up practices.

For which Process industry branches is the course useful? 

Start-up companies for biomass conversion, waste chemicals upgrading, renewable energy processes.

Established companies of industrial branches, bulk chemicals, fine chemicals, food, paper & pulp, steel, ceramics, catalyst manufacturing, oil refining, minerals, Active Pharma Ingredients.

Solids processing for processing biomass, waste materials, minerals, and powder will be given  specific attention in the course.

Course set-up and participants number  

The number of course participants is limited to 12. This facilitates interactions between participants and with the course lecturer and creates an informal atmosphere.

Course conductor

Your course conductor is ir. Jan Harmsen, independent sustainable process innovation consultant, of Harmsen Consultancy.

Ir. Jan Harmsen has more than 40 years of industrial experience in research, development, design, and commercial scale implementation of processes in oil & gas, bulk chemicals, fine chemicals, food, and minerals. He has more than 20 years of experience in conducting courses on sustainable process design, process innovation, and process scale-up. He also has been a part-time professor sustainable chemical technology at Delft Technical University. He authored books relevant to the course content:

[1] Jan Harmsen, Industrial Process Scale-up, 2nd revised Edition – A Practical Innovation Guide from Idea to Commercial Implementation, Elsevier, Amsterdam (2019).

[2] Jan Harmsen, André B. de Haan, P.L.J Swinkels, Product and Process Design – Driving Sustainable Innovation, DEGRUYTER, 2nd revised edition, Berlin (2024).

[3] Harmsen, Jan; Verkerk, Maarten. Process Intensification: Breakthrough in Design, Industrial Innovation Practices, and Education. De Gruyter, Berlin, (2020).

 

 

Applying for the course by sending an email to J. Harmsen, before 31st of October 2025.

E: jan@harmsenconsultancy.nl

 

Course Fee and payment

Course Fee: € 2500 Exclusive of VAT 21 % (payable for Dutch participants). Payment by bank transfer before 17th of November 2025.

An invoice will send to participants containing payment details.