Seminar - "Microscale Processing for High-Throughput Studies in Water Separations and Bio-Polymer Processing", by David Latulippe, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University

Thursday, April 3, 2014 3:30 pm - 3:30 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

ABSTRACT: There is considerable interest in the use of micro-scale processing (MSP) techniques for process development and optimization.  The advantages of developing miniaturized versions of upstream and downstream unit operations that are scalable to actual production conditions are considerable.  First, it reduces the material costs associated with running a large number of lab-scale or full-scale trials.  Second, it accommodates a parallel approach for experimental testing, instead of the more traditional sequential approach, and thus is ideally suited for high-throughput (HT) screening and design of experiment (DOE) strategies for process optimization.  Third, it can often be automated using robotic handling systems.  In this talk, I will discuss two applications of MSP techniques in different research areas.

For downstream bioprocessing, we recently developed a ‘stirred-well filtration’ technique that uses 96-well filter plates and incorporates mixing of the feed solution directly above the membrane surface akin to the common stirred-cell filtration setup.  The stirring was achieved using a lateral tumble stirrer which uses one drive magnetic field to simultaneously stir a multiple number of vessels.  This approach allows for the simultaneously running of up to eight constant flux filtration experiments and is ideal for using design-of-experiments (DOE) methodologies to systematically cover the entire operating window of filtration chromatographic processes. 

For wastewater treatment, we recently developed a microplate-based strategy for conducting high-throughput studies of the de-watering performance of flocculated sludge samples.  This approach allows for a rapid determination of the optimal polymer type, polymer dosage, and mixing conditions for various sludge sources; the results are shown to be scaleable to those obtained with conventional jar tests.

Bio-sketch:  David Latulippe is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University.  David obtained his Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering at McMaster University in 2000 and 2005 respectively.  Between those degrees he worked for three years at Zenon Environmental on the design and production of hollow-fiber membranes for water and wastewater treatment applications.  In 2010, he obtained his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in Chemical Engineering - his research focused on the application of membrane processes for purification of plasmid DNA therapeutics.  After completing his Ph.D, David completed a post-doc position in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University working on aptamer technologies.  David’s current research areas are focused on separation processes for biopolymer processing and wastewater treatment.  In 2014, he was awarded the Young Membrane Scientist Award from the North American Membrane Society.  Other previous awards include the Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award, the AIChE Separations Division Graduate Student Research Award, and the J. Armand Bombardier Internationalist Fellowship.