Chemical Engineering March 2011 - 12

Edited by Gerald Ondrey
March 2011
A scaled up microreactor
for mass production
M
Technique Co. (M Tech; Osaka,
Japan;
www.m-technique.co.jp)
has commercialized the Ulrea SS-300,
a scaled up version of the Ulrea SS-11
- a forced thin-film microreactor. With
a production capacity nearly ten times
higher than its predecessor, the Ulrea
SS-300 is suitable for mass production
of organic, inorganic and biochemicals
as well as for producing micro- and
nanoparticles and crystals.
The Ulrea technology is based on the
company's Clear SS-5 dispersion system
(diagram, left), which consists of
two facing, ring-shaped discs. In the Ulrea,
the stationary disc has been modified to
allow introducing a second reactant (B) into
the thin film of reactant A (diagram, right).
Mixtures are forcefully dispersed between
the two discs, one of which is stationary
but free to float on the fluid film, and the
other disc is rotated at high speed (about
300-3,600 rpm). The high shear stress generated
in the boundary layer (a few microns
thickness) results in ultra precise dispersions
emerging from between the discs.
Unlike alternative microchannel reactors,
the Ulrea does not clog due to the rotating
disc, which leads to a self-discharge of
any solids that may build up, says Daisuke
Process inlet
Stationary disc
(floating structure)
Rotating
disc
A
Process
outlet
Process
outlet
Utilizes forced ultra-thin
Motor
film technology which
was established at SS-5
A + B  X
Ultra-thin high-shear disperser
(breakdown: SS-5)
Forced thin-film reactor
(reaction and buildup: Ulrea SS-11 )
Honda a researcher at the company's R&D
dept. The floating structure allows the reactor
to utilize much smaller reaction flow
channels (1-30 µm versus 50-500 µm for
conventional microreactors), which leads to
improved mass and heat transfer (and thus
better reaction control). The system is also
said to be easier to scale up, says Honda.
The discs of the Ulrea SS-300 have a
30-cm dia., and the company is now developing
a 70-cm-dia. version for even higher
capacities. In addition to performing reactions,
the Ulrea can also be used for fabricating
spherical micro- and nanoparticles of
metals (Ni, Cu and Pt) Pt-Pd alloys, metal
oxides and pigments.
Vegetable-oil-based chemicals plant
soon to be fully operational
I
n spring of this year, Archer Daniels Midland
Co. (ADM; Decatur,
Ill.; www.adm.
com) plans full operation of a chemical plant
based on soybean and canola oils as renewable
feedstock. Products of the plant will include
refined glycerin, propylene glycol and
ethylene glycol.
Crude vegetable-derived oils are obtained
through a process in which soybeans and
canola seeds are crushed, dehulled and conditioned,
and vegetable oil is extracted. The
crude vegetable oil is refined, and a transesterification
process generates crude biodiesel
fuel and glycerin. A series of distillation and
evaporation steps yields glycerin that meets
U.S. Pharmacopeia specifications for purity.
The glycerin can also be subjected to a
catalytic hydrogenolysis process to produce
Note: For more information, circle the 3-digit number
on p. 62, or use the website designation.
propylene glycol (PG), the first renewable
route to a chemical with both industrial
uses - such as engine coolants, antifreeze,
paints and coatings, and liquid detergents
- as well as high-purity uses in personal
care products, food flavorings and in pharmaceutical
excipients.
Key to the development of the renewable
PG process was a selective catalyst for converting
glycerin to PG that was licensed by
ADM from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(Richland, Wash.; www.pnl.gov).
ADM designed its new plant with an annual
manufacturing capacity of 100,000
metric tons (m.t.) of bio-based PG, which will
be priced competitively compared to petroleum-derived
PG, says Paul Bloom, ADM's
business director for evolution chemicals.
CO2 for plastic
Last month, a pilot plant that
produces an intermediate for
polyurethane, using carbon
dioxide as feedstock, started
up at Chempark Leverkusen,
Germany. The plant - designed,
built and operated by
Bayer Technology Services
GmbH (Leverkusen; www.bayertechnology.com)
- is part
of the so-called Dream Production
project, a €9-million
collaboration between Bayer,
RWE Power, RWTH Aachen
University and the CAT Catalytic
Center (which is run jointly
by RWTH and Bayer). The
kilogram-scale pilot plant features
a proprietary zinc-based
catalyst developed by scientists
at Bayer and the CAT center.
If the testing phase goes
well, industrial production of
CO2-based plastics should
start in 2015, says Bayer.
CO2 for urea
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,
Ltd. (MHI; Tokyo, Japan; www.
mhi.co.jp) has signed a license
agreement for CO2-recovery
technology with National Fertilizers
Ltd. (NFL; Noida, India;
www.nationalfertilizers.com).
NFL will use the technology
to increase urea production
at its existing Vijaipur Plant in
Guna District, Madhya Pradesh
State. The CO2-recovery plant
(Continues on p. 12)
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM MARCH 2011 11
X
Rotating
disc
Stationary disc
(floating structure)
PI
Air
B
http://www.m-technique.co.jp http://www.bay http://www.ertechnology.com http://www.adm http://mhi.co.jp http://www.nationalfertilizers.com http://www.pnl.gov http://WWW.CHE.COM
Chemical Engineering March 2011

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