Published 18 Feb 2025
11 februari 2025
This year, Aspen was delighted to welcome Femke, a third-year Chemical Technology student from Avans, for a 20-week internship.
“Femke, who was introduced to the industry through her mother’s work at Aspen Oss, actively pursued an internship at our company from her second year of study. Her proactive approach and clear goals led to a successful internship. “Under the guidance of her colleagues Paul, Marcia, and Egbert, Femke worked on an improvement project. This project aimed to optimize the purification process of Desogestrel, a key ingredient in birth control pills.
Aspen has over a century of experience in producing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). More than 50 different processes are carried out at Chemical Operations production site “De Geer”, where approximately 20 APIs are produced. In one of the modules, Desogestrel is purified. Desogestrel is the API of the birth control pills.
Aspen is committed to sustainability and quality. At “De Geer” production site, we use an SRU (Solvent Recovery Unit). By using the SRU, used solvents such as acetone, ethanol, toluene, diethyl ether and THF can be distilled into clean solvents, which can then be reused in the production processes. Femke’s project involved exploring ways to further reduce solvent usage within the manufacturing process.
“Within our manufacturing process, we use solvents. This is evaporated within the process, resulting in a distillate, which is condensed and sent to the SRU. Considering that the solvents in the process are already distilled, sending this to the SRU (Solvent Recovery Unit) seems to be redundant. The collected samples have proven to be of exceptionally high quality. They consistently passed GC analysis, dry testing, and TLC.
Quality Assurance (QA) is highly supportive of directly reusing the distillate, without the use of the SRU. While adjustments will need to be made and procedures will have to follow the MoC (Management of Change) process. The research has primarily focused on one of our modules. Other modules within the factory could also be a potential candidate.
Femke emphasizes that collaboration is the key to success. She is proud of the submitted proposal, as it demonstrates the possibility of both sustainable practices, cost savings, currently exceeding 6m3 solvent per batch, as well as time saving for the operators. The proposal is now being checked by the CRS and Quality departments.
In a year and a half, she will be completing her studies. But knowing Femke, she already has her sights set on her next goal: to obtain a university degree in chemical technology.
When asked, what message she would like to bring to students, she responded: “Don’t be afraid to attend an open day, even if you’re the only girl in the class.” The percentage of women in the chemical industry is significantly lower compared to men.
Femke’s internship has been a resounding success, showcasing the talent and dedication of young female students and the positive impact they can have on the industry.
