C3g-Batch or Continuous Flashcards
What is a batch process?
A manufacturing process which only operates at certain times
What is a continuous process?
A manufacturing process which runs all the time
What are batch processes mainly used for?
Production of pharmaceutical drugs
What are continuous processes mainly used for?
To produce chemicals such as ammonia
What are the advantages of batch processes?
- flexible since different products can be made using the same equipment
- start up costs are low (small scale)
What are the disadvantages of batch processes?
- labour intensive since equipment needs to be set up and manually controlled for each batch and cleaned out at the end
- tricky to keep the same quality from batch to batch
What are the advantages of a continuous process?
- production never stops (dont have to set up constantly)
- runs automatically (only have to interfere when something goes wrong)
- quality of product is consistent
What are the disadvantages of a continuous process?
- start up costs are huge
- it isnt cost effective to run at less than full capacity
What are the factors that affect the cost of making and developing a pharmaceutical drug?
- research and testing
- labour costs
- energy costs
- raw materials
- time taken for development
- marketing
Why do pharmaceutical drugs need to be tested?
To make sure they are safe to use
Why is it expensive to make and develop new drugs?
- highly paid scientists for research and development
- time consuming trials
- energy and raw material costs
What are the two ways the raw materials for pharmaceutical drugs can be made?
- synthetically
- extracted from plants
How are chemicals extracted from plant sources?
- crush plant
- boil to dissolve in a suitable solvent
- separate by chromotography
- extract the chemical you want
Why is it important to manufacture drugs to be as pure as possible?
Impurities poison catalysts
What substances have a specific melting point and boiling point?
Pure substances
