Computer aided design of large scale integrated bioprocess

Two Bioprocess simulators (Aspen BPS and SuperPro) were used to simulate and compare flowsheets for production of t-PA from CHO cells. The base case uses a medium containing 10% serum and affinity chromatography is the major step in its downstream processing train. An alternate flowsheet employs a two step bioreaction of growth and production, Serum free medium is used in the production bioreactor to facilitate downstream processing. Ion-exchange chromatography is considered to be sufficient for purification of the low protein medium for this case. Validation of the simulated results are carried out by comparing the economics of the base case with the reported values of a similar process. At an estimated price of $25/L of serum free medium, the alternate flowsheet is found to have a ROI slightly higher than the base case (139% and 133.5 %). Copyright (C) 1998 IFAC.