Next generation batch reactor productivity and efficiency : An introduction to the PI QFlux™ Batch Reactor System – Form , function and results
PTSC ( Process Technology Strategic Consultancy Ltd ) has completed performance testing of its PI QFlux™ batch reactor system vs an equivalent industry standard batch reactor and confirmed it achieved more than four times the heat transfer performance to that of a standard batch reactor , whilst utilizing 50 % less primary energy in the process . These tests were carried out jointly with KOBELCO ECO-SOLUTIONS CO . LTD . Japan who constructed a purpose-built test facility , in order to host the back-to-back trials .
By Andrew C . Wills . BSc Mech Eng , and Thomas McKenna . MEng Chem Eng
The history of chemical batch processing It is an often-overlooked fact , that the current industrial scale chemical batch reactor differs little from that produced in the late 19th century albeit with a few more improvements around the edges . Even with the introduction of stainless reactors and other alloys beginning in the mid 20th century , the basic design and performance of the batch reactor varies little from those first introductions . The industrial batch reactor covers many material forms including glass lined , stainless , high alloy as well as others , and all are designed to operate with some or all of the following features – corrosion resistance , pressure containment , mixing , heat transfer capability and process product ingress and egress . There are of course additional features that can be added such as containment , CIP , safety systems , etc . but these play no role in the basic operation of the current reactor form . In the well-established terminology of “ form follows function ” the basic premise of the batch reactor has followed the 6 overriding “ functional ” requirements being corrosion , pressure , heat transfer , mixing , and containment . It may be somewhat of a surprise but at no point has productivity or efficiency ever come into the “ functional ” requirement either from the supply base or the end users outside perhaps adding some exterior insulation to the batch reactor . This is all the more surprising when you consider the dismal productivity and energy efficiency of the standard batch reactor , which is often overlooked on the basis that it has “ always been this way ” and it is the universal accepted norm . Despite such wide use of batch reactors in the global fine , specialty and pharma sectors the level of understanding and analysis available on batch reactor operational efficiency is very small . In one of the most detailed surveys carried out , the Swiss Federal Office of Energy ( Analysis and modelling of Energy consumption of Batch Chemical plants
March 2004 ) reviewed over an extended period of time multiple production buildings , and products with the report undertaking a monitoring and modelling exercise of the utilization of energy across numerous process plant equipment types . The findings are sobering reading and go some way to explaining why the chemicals industry is one of the top global industry CO 2 emitters . One of the more noted measures in the report was the assessment that for every tonne of fine chemical product produced the primary energy consumption was equivalent to 22,500 kWh or 22.5kWh per Kg which is an extraordinary energy cost of conversion , in what is a relatively low process temperature environment .
The PI QFlux™ Reactor Design Concept The PI QFlux™ reactor system has also been developed as a “ form following function ” technology , however the sequence and identification of the “ function ” is very different , focusing on – productivity , efficiency , heat transfer , corrosion , mixing , containment . The PI QFlux™ Reactor is designed not from the basis of a piece of process equipment but as an integrated production system . In developing a reactor process system , it was vital to combine the method of achieving the transfer of energy as well as the process unit itself to enable a higher productivity , this lead both PTSC and TFS to develop a specialized Thermal Control Unit ( TCU ) specifically for this task . The PI QFlux™ reactor system differs from other mass transfer reaction technologies such a “ flow chemistry ” in that it is not aimed at a radical revision of the chemical process methodology , but one in which the flexibility of batch can approach the kinetic speed of larger flow processing . Unlike flow however , the PI QFlux™ reactor system is designed to be fully integrated into existing plant infrastructure with the chemistry and SoP ’ s performed in the same way as current batch technology only significantly faster , it also provides the same level of in-process flexibility in terms of multi-phase material mixing , evaporation , and crystallization just significantly faster and more accurately . The development of this integrated technology follows some 4 years of R & D and with a specific target at the outset of being the development of the fastest batch reactor system utilizing conventional materials of construction , as well as the most energy efficient ; this being before its relevance was fully appreciated . During the development stage of the technology PTSC utilized powerful computer thermodynamic modelling of the new reactor design and TCU options whilst combining with the extensive mixing modelling and FEA of the reactor vessel and components . This work enabled a very high www . heat-exchanger-world . com Heat Exchanger World October 2022
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