A Corning reactor is now in commercialscale manufacture in China . We spoke to Dr Yi Jiang , the firm ’ s general manager there
Jiang – G5 opens up new application space
Corning has claimed a major landmark for flow technology . Using the newly launched G5 reactor , China ’ s Zhejiang Weihua New Materials achieved a 10,000-tonnes / year throughput in agrochemical production . This marked both the highest production capacity yet achieved on a single production line and the first use of the G5 in industrial production . This particular flow system was developed in collaboration with Shanghai Hybrid-Chem Technology , which specialises in continuous flow process development , using Corning ' s Advanced Flow Reactors ( AFRs ) and other flow chemistry tools . Shanghai Hybrid also has the first Corning reactor application qualified laboratory ( AQL ) in China . It scaled up the reactions used from the much smaller G1 to the G5 . Corning , notes Dr Yi Jiang , president and general manager at Corning AFR Technology in China , which is the global headquarters for the company ’ s reactor business , has been working in the area of flow technology for 18 years . It has been active in this field in China for the last ten years and has seen considerable expansion in its industrial-scale capabilities in the last three . To date , Corning has installed more than 60 industrial production lines across Asia , Europe and the US , including four other large-scale continuous manufacturing processes with throughputs of 10,000-20,000 tonnes / year . Hitherto , this has been done using the G4 range . The installation at Weihua replaced nine large batch reactor vessels with a single integrated system . After successfully installing one production line using a G5 , it followed up with a separate one a few months later . These lines have been running steadily since November 2019 and have achieved all their targeted key performance indicators , notably :
• C ontinuously stable production with diazotization & hydrolysis reactions
• A seamlessly scaled-up process from the G1 to the G5
• A significantly higher yield , less waste & improved profits
• Inherently safer operations , reduced liquid holding capacity of diazotisation & hydrolysis reactions by 99.99 % & 96.47 % respectively
• A significantly reduced manufacturing footprint and onsite operational labour force
Global launch
“ We wanted to make sure that production using the G5 is in a robust situation before we launched it on the market ,” Jiang says . “ The results were even better than expected and these production lines have clearly demonstrated its advantages .” China has long been a key market for Corning as a whole , in terms both of the speed of its growth and also the volumes . However , the G5 has now been launched globally and Corning clearly , has high hopes for it beyond the traditional markets for microreactors , due to its high annual throughput per reactor . Using one G5 has other advantages over using five G4s beyond footprint reduction , Jiang says . For one , it can greatly reduce the system capital investment due to significantly reduced auxiliaries ( such as pumps , flow meters , controls and other supporting equipment ), making it attractive to companies producing on a large scale . The G5 is also simpler , making it preferable from an operational efficiency point of view and in terms of robustness , and maintenance requirements . Thus , it is more costeffective for the customers . “ G4s in parallel still have a very different field to play in due to its great flexibility and multifunctional potentials , but with this G5 advance we have opened a wider application space and it is attracting a lot of attention beyond the original applications like pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals ,” Jiang says .
20 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981