Products | Equipment | Process Intensification
Product Specifications
Scaling up chemical processes has always been challenging because heat transfer and other surface phenomena as well as the dynamics of mixing and thermal transfer make scale up tricky. Scaling up from bench scale to pilot scale is fraught with difficulties and moving to plant scale is definitely not for the faint of heart! Any unexpected effects are excruciatingly expensive and will result in commissioning delays and lost production.
Process intensification revisits the fundamentals of fluid dynamics and is created when mixing occurs on a nano or micro scale, enhanced by high shear conditions using thin films or micro-flows. Unlike normal batch chemical processes, scale-up issues are minimized because every volume element sees the same chemical and thermal environment and experiences the same reaction time at temperature. Typical process intensification module configurations include spinning disc reactors (SDR), micro-arrays and rotating cylinder or tube reactors:
The significantly enhanced transport rates achieved in process intensification reactors provide an excellent hydrodynamic environment for achieving fast reaction kinetics and can be combined with the use of field effects as UV radiation, micro wave irradiation and ultrasonic and centrifugal force. Overall, the technology provides the ability to utilize wider operating parameters than more traditional manufacturing and yields a whole new level of manufacturing flexibility.
In addition, process intensification leads to green engineering solutions since the smaller scale equipment can be used for continuous production of materials on the same volume scale as with traditional batch reactors, but typically do so faster, with enhanced yields and with more consistent quality. And, the scaled-down approach results in safer processes with less waste and extremely efficient energy consumption because of the enhanced heat transfer through the thin films.
NDFusion’s patent pending rotating tube reactor (RTR) uses centrifugal force to create thin, highly sheared films which experience extremely high heat, mass transfer, and mixing rates and provides the ability to perform reactions which are driven by interfacial chemistry. Due to the centrifugal field created within the RTR, two liquids with differing densities form two independent micron- scale layers. These short diffusion paths provide extremely high mixing and transport rates which are similar to the ones achieved by slug flows using micro reactors but due to the unique design of the RTR, the pressure drop experienced is negligible.
The RTR provides a range of residence times, which can extend from seconds to several minutes. As the reaction is performed along the walls of the tube reactor, there is a unique opportunity to provide sequential addition of chemicals necessary to influence the course of the reaction.
Other Features:
- Excellent mixing between liquid streams
- Controlled liquid residence time
- Energy efficient
- Easy cleaning
- High solid/liquid & liquid/vapor heat/mass transfer
