Reducing water waste is a key focus for the Cytiva team as we work towards designing in sustainability. Recently, an engineer and a scientist at our site in Uppsala, Sweden worked out a way to save water and increase capacity of production as a bonus. In Uppsala, we make and purify resins, ready to be used by biopharmaceutical companies to produce therapies that benefit patients around the world
The process to purify resins uses a lot of water. Jonny Näsman, an experienced development engineer started to calculate ways to improve the environmental impact of making and purifying resins. He, along with a group of dedicated associates, including Per-Mikael Åberg, a senior scientist, began testing Jonny’s theories on reducing water usage in the resin production processes while maintaining a high level of quality.
The team’s first solution was to use less water and increase the frequency of the washes. That worked. However, a huge challenge remained. Since some processes take several days to run, lab technicians needed to be available 24/7 to perform the changes. It was an unreasonable ask. They needed to find another way to decrease water without putting an undue burden on the technicians.
They experimented with another idea. What if they kept the original number of washes, but reduced the water by using a longer rinse? That worked. Not only were they able to increase the efficiency of each wash step, but they were also able to wash up to 50% more resins within the same container without the use of additional water. In the end, the team proved it was possible to maintain a high level of quality when purifying resins while reducing the amount of water used by 30%.
They also discovered that by reducing the amount of water and increasing the number of resins during each wash step, they used less chemicals. Looking at chemical use more closely, they realized it was possible to reduce the amount of buffer chemicals needed by up to 45 to 75%. That in turn reduced the burden on both the site’s wastewater treatment plant and on local municipalities. The total chemical savings corresponds to > 200 metric tons a year, resulting in technicians carrying one less metric ton a month.
The site has seen a significant increase in demand for resins. As a direct result of the team’s findings, the site can increase its capacity and production using existing equipment. These new processes are not limited to a specific site; they can be transferred to any additional resins site in the future, compounding the savings.
In the spirit of continuous improvement, the team continues to look for opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of purifying resins. Jonny and Per-Mikael and the team agree this project will be their legacy.