Page 179 - CW E-Magazine (12-3-2024)

Special Report Special Report

be predicted. These parameters can help of a good model, the process can duced in microfl uidic reactors with realised, for example, by a parallel con- melled stirred tanks, which have signi- reactors must be optimised as far as
be used to calculate reaction times be transferred directly to the produc- precisely defi ned properties. Such nection of channels to a channel bundle fi cantly improved the fl exibility and possible on the one hand, but also
and heat or electricity consumption or tion plant scale. In practice, however, a reactors also enable better heat and in the reactor. energy effi ciency of gas-liquid systems robust enough to cope with changing
production. If transport processes are pilot plant is often interposed in order to mass transfer. Microstructured reactors despite the otherwise limited produc- conditions on the other.
taken into account, the reactor can be further reduce the risks during scale-up. are characterised by internal structures In 2016, Shaoxing Eastlake Hi-Tech tion potential of enamelled devices.
designed in such a way that the reaction of ten to several thousand micrometres. Co. Ltd. commissioned the fi rst large- For example, some biotechno-
can be carried out safely and with high However, the goal is not always the In such structures, liquids can be heated volume production reactor based on In order to increase heat transfer, logical processes require large reactor
yields. Mini-plant studies are essential largest possible reactor. This is demon- or cooled within milliseconds. microreaction technology for the pro- heat exchanger plates can be introduced volumes of more than 1,000-m³ and simul-
for this, as recycling fl ows and opera- strated by another important research duction of an ingredient for agricultural into the stirred tank, which offer larger taneously high specifi c mass transfer
tion under partial load and during start- trend, fl ow chemistry. It opens up new Microstructured production plants applications in China. Three of these exchange surfaces than internal heat rates. For a conventional aeration sys-
up and shut-down of the reaction must avenues for catalytic reactors and pro- are also currently being developed, for reactors are now running continuously exchange coils. This allows exothermic tem, motor outputs of more than 10-MW
also be taken into account when design- duction techniques. Nanoparticles and example, to produce synthetic hydro- with an overall throughput of 30,000 reactions, such as suspension hydroge- are then quickly required, which is
ing and analysing the process. With the other functional materials can be pro- carbons or high-quality power-to-X tonnes per year. nation, to be better controlled. Salt bath diffi cult to realise mechanically. The
chemicals using renewable energy. reactors are conventional fi xed bed development of hybrid gassing techno-
Thanks to their excellent heat transfer, The development of new processes reactors for exothermic, heterogeneously logies and new ways of dissipating heat
they enable high space-time yields with and the development of apparatus tech- catalysed gas phase reactions at high could help to bring such processes into
high selectivity, precisely controlled nology for the construction of chemical temperatures. They are used, for exam- industrial application more quickly.
product quality and a long catalyst reactors go hand in hand. Today, the ple, for partial oxidations, such as in the
service life. If they have a modular range of apparatus and reactor designs synthesis of acrylic acid. In the production of new gene and
design and can be ramped up and down is as broad as the product portfolio of cell therapeutics, on the other hand,
quickly, they are particularly interest- chemical plants. Due to its fl exibility, If the demands on heat exchange which are highly individualised, all re-
ing for decentralised use at the point the stirred tank is still the most widely or temperature control are higher, action steps should take place in a small
of energy generation. Several compa- used reactor type. However, the spec- so-called heat exchange reactors can space close to the point of care – the
nies, including Ineratec, are therefore trum of technologies ranges from clas- be used. Based on plate or tube bundle pharmaceutical factory in a compact,
already thinking ahead: they not only sic fi xed-bed reactors with molten salt heat exchangers, they enable very high mobile “chest” would be a possible
want to use microstructured reactors or evaporative cooling to heat exchange heat exchange rates for single-phase goal here.
in development, but also expand them reactors, bubble columns, jet reactors, systems.
into commercial production plants. nozzle & fl uidised bed reactors, high- As diverse as the applications are,
temperature reactors and more com- Challenges from the application as innovative are the solutions that re-
Developments in microstructured plex apparatus such as microstructured, The new industrial processes, the action engineers develop and for which
Big process in small structures? reactors in recent years have shown electrochemical and kneader reactors, change in the energy and raw material the plant engineers and equipment
AdobeStock/261545234/Grispb that the intensifi cation of heat exchange as well as hybrid systems such as reac- base and the pursuit of economic effi - manufacturers provide the equipment.
in production processes was initially tive distillation, extraction or gas scrub- ciency will continue to pose challenges In view of the numerous new develop-
primarily limited to, but also driven bers. for reaction technology in the com- ments, much can still be expected in the
by, single-phase systems. In principle, ing years. Particularly in view of the coming years.
microstructured reactors can also be Although the stirred tank is one of trends towards bio-based and recycled
used for multi-phase systems. Effects the oldest chemical reactor designs, it raw materials, whose composition and [This ACHEMA trend report is based
such as surface tension, wetting or is still constantly being improved. New physical properties vary considerably on the ‘Roadmap Chemical Reaction
non-uniform fl ow behaviour in parallel solutions such as fl exible baffl es and more than those of conventional petro- Engineering’, 3rd edition 2023, https://dechema.
channels complicate the industrial other modifi cations have been deve- chemical raw materials and which de/Roadmap_Reaction_Engineering-path-
application of microreactors. loped for the ‘inner workings’ of ena- typically contain far more impurities, 123211,124930.html].

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178 Chemical Weekly March 12, 2024 Chemical Weekly March 12, 2024 179

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