Developing and piloting industrial manufacturing processes for herbal products for consumer healthcare
For thousands of years humans have relied on the positive health effects of plant ingredients. In the Natural Product Technology Plant, our experts work with partners to develop and pilot industrial manufacturing processes for herbal products for consumer healthcare.
The focus is on conventional and specialised technologies for extracting natural substances from plant components. For example, substances can be extracted with supercritical CO2 or using membrane contactors – with batch sizes of up to 200 litres. Coarse and fine grinders can be used to break down large-leaf source material. The extracts obtained can then be processed and configured using established methods such as spray and conical drying, followed by vacuum packaging, lyophilization, filling of bottles, cans or drums, and ointment manufacturing including tube filling.
In addition, the PTC has a 100-litre microbrewery with automatic mashing and two 100-liter fermentation and storage tanks. A nanofiltration system can separate the yeast or dealcoholize the brewed beer. Thanks to a semi-automatic bottling machine, beer can be filled into sophisticated containers.
Comprehensive analysis methods, with the emphasis on inline measurement technology, underly all the work and enable comprehensive process control and documentation.
In order to meet increasing hygiene demands, the natural substances area is access-controlled and may only be entered with appropriate clothing. The cleaning of plant components and measuring devices is done by means of a mobile cleaning-in-place (CIP) system. Cleaning protocols and processes can be developed and carried out using a 1000 litre test facility named "EHEDG-Rig" in cooperation with Endress+Hauser.
The Natural Products Technolog Plant is available to research and development partners from industry and universities and is used extensively in our education programmes.
A look inside the facility
Infrastructure
- Solid-liquid extractor: Samtech DIG-MAZ, 20 L, including thin film evaporation and chamber filter press
- Spray drying: Büchi
- Conical dryer and homogenizer: IKA Magic-Plant
- Micro brewing plant (1 hL) including automatic mashing and 2 cooled fermentation tanks: Gruber
- Membrane degassing plant (200 L/h degassed water - < 10 ppb residual oxygen)
- Nanofiltration plant for dealcoholization of beer 1 hL/h
- Microfiltration plant with automatic backwash system up to 500 L/h
- Mobile cleaning-in-place (CIP) system with 100 L preparation tank and dosing station for acid/alkali/detergent and CIP return pump
- EHEDG-testrig for cleaning of plant components as well as cleaning development and validation
- Membrane extraction plants for membrane-supported gas supply and degassing, emulsion-free liquid-liquid extraction and membrane distillation up to 20 L/h continuous
- Hygiene zone (non-Ex area)
Contact
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Riedl
- Phone
- +41 61 228 55 51
- wolfgang.riedl@fhnw.ch