News | September 2, 1998

Another Go At The Batch-Design Market For BDK

Hyprotech Ltd. (Calgary, AB), part of the AEA Technology group of process-software companies, has announced the on-schedule release of BDK (formerly Batch Design Kit, now Batch Development and Design Knowledge). The program is now being touted as an integrated batch process development and design environment, tailored especially for pharmaceutical, fine and specialty chemical manufacturers. Hyprotech acquired the software within the past year from MIT, which had originally licensed it to Gensym, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) in the mid-1990s. Now, the program has been linked both to Hysys, Hyprotech's process-design suite of simulation and design tools, and to Separation Processes Services (SPS), a grouping of software, data and consulting services offered by AEA.

According to Hyprotech's Batch Processing Business Development Manager, Mark Isaacs, BDK will help accelerate all aspects of batch process development, from early chemistry to detailed engineering design. The software uses a conceptual process model to enable multi-disciplinary development teams to share a common frame of reference throughout a project's lifecycle and to manage accumulated knowledge. Key features are:

  • To enable the rapid selection of the optimum chemical synthesis and manufacturing routes while considering scaleup, economic and environmental implications
  • To optimize the batch recipe used as well as the supply chain, waste processing, equipment allocation and existing facility utilization costs
  • To provide a central "knowledge warehouse" which improves cross-discipline team communications, documents the entire development process and provides a smoother path for compliance with environmental, health and safety regulations
  • To link to expert systems and information databases, such as SPS, to obtain detailed information on wastewater treatment, crystallization, filtration, drying and solvent extraction

The concept behind BDK was originally developed by George Stephanopoulos, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Dept. of Chemical Engineering - Laboratory for Intelligent Systems for Process Engineering. A consortium that included Gensym, Inc., the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark, NJ), and a group of major pharmaceutical, agrochemical and specialty and fine chemical companies advanced the program, leading to a commercial version which Gensym has attempted to market for the past couple years. Hyprotech obtained the exclusive worldwide marketing and development rights to BDK in November 1997. Subsequently Hyprotech's software development team has refined and enhanced the original MIT version; increasing its speed, functionality and usability, to create the BDK integrated process development and design environment.

For more information: Hyprotech Ltd. International: 403-520-6000 North America: 1-800-661-8696 Fax: 403-520-6040