Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wucherpfennig

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG
Bioprocess Development Biologicals

Binger Strasse 173

55216 Ingelheim am Rhein

Phone +49 7351 54-144806

Mail Dr. Thomas Wucherpfennig


Thomas pursued the study of Biotechnology at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, and Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He earned his PhD in Bioprocess Engineering from the Technical University of Braunschweig. Prior to joining Boehringer Ingelheim as a postdoctoral fellow in 2014, Thomas acquired valuable experience in the industrial biotech sector at Roche and Clariant. Since 2015, he has held various roles in cell culture process development at Boehringer Ingelheim and currently serves as a Senior Principal Scientist, spearheading late-stage process development. In addition, Thomas is a lecturer at FH Oberösterreich in Wels and TUHH – Hamburg University of Technology, His research focus is on bioprocess scale-up, bioreactor characterization, Process Analytical Technology (PAT), and cell culture process modeling.

Research Interests

  • Scale-up of bioprocesses
  • Bioreactor characterization
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Process Analytical Technology (PAT)
  • Cell culture process modelling

Publications

[185008]
Title: Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as a Tool for Industrial UF/DF Tank Optimization.
Written by: Wutz, J., Waterkotte, B., Heitmann, K., Wucherpfennig, T.
in: <em>Biochem Eng J</em>. (2020).
Volume: <strong>160</strong>. Number: (107617),
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2020.107617
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Abstract: The focus of the current study is the modeling of UF/DF mixing equipment with a focus on mixing performance. When jet flow and stirring are combined, a spatially resolved computational model can be very helpful, as it makes it possible to predict the flow field and thus the mixing behavior of such tanks. In order to evaluate a particular geometry and parameter set, a mixing efficiency term is introduced to allow the assessment of the mixing performance with one single parameter that can be derived from experiments and CFD simulations. This parameter is used to judge the predictability of the presented CFD approach. Small scale experiments are used to validate simulation results and good agreement is achieved. This model is then used to optimize a production scale industrial vessel. Such model approaches will help in developing processes for high titer formulations and enables the design of robust and reliable geometries.