Bayer backing mircoreactors
6 Dec 2006
While efforts to advance microreactors and process intensification (PI) have been on-going for many years there have, as yet, been very few commercial developments in this area.
However, according to Dr Klaus Sommer, senior vice president, head of business management of Bayer Technology Services, a new culture among process engineers and scientists is acting as a catalyst for the uptakes of these processes.
“This is the moment in time when things start to be implemented. My opinion is that we will see quite a number of commercial implementations within the next three to five years,” Sommer said.
Microreactors technology, predicts Sommer, will take off first for manufacture of active ingredients. This industry, he said, can benefit from “production plants that are sized exactly to the needs that you have for these products, rather than a multipurpose facility you have a dedicated facility that is just the right size.”
According to Sommer, there should be no real volume limits for companies adopting these technologies. “Even with a production facility with tens of kilotonnes a year, PI means you can higher temperature and pressure for a very short period of time instead of a big reactor that you steer for hours. You could have a facility running all year long but producing exactly the amount of product that you need. This would be continuous, dedicated but very small.”
The Bayer official went onto highlight the safety aspects of microreactors: “It is somewhat inherently safe because you design it for small hold up volumes, for one purpose so it doesn’t have to flexible for many purposes which helps ensure you have the safest plant that you can. You can have a plant close to the customer and so don't have to transfer product all over the place.”
