Reactors Alfa-Laval

In the following part, four reactors that have been extensively studied in our lab are described the open plate reactor (OPR) - the Alfa-Laval reactor technology (ART ) plate reactor, the Shimtec reactor from Chart Industries, the Corning (glass reactor), and the DeanHex reactor which has been constructed with SiC and stainless steel. 

In order to illustrate the approach, we present some results obtained with the OPR Alfa-Laval reactor in the case of an instantaneous exothermic reaction. 

Applications of Alfa Laval plate-type continuous reactors to pharmaceutical synthesis were for a liquid-liquid reaction where an alcohol is oxidised to an aldehyde using sodium hypochlorite - resulting in an increased yield compared to the batch operation - and a ring closure reaction. Here the reaction was carried out at a temperature above the solvent s normal boiling point, and again a substantially higher yield was obtained. When reactions were undertaken in micro-reactors very high heat transfer capability was observed, but these would be used in different applications to the Alfa Laval reactor. 

Alfa Laval (Sweden) Plate reactors for producing pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals... 

Device Coming reactor Alfa-Laval OPR Chart reactor Sic reactor... 

Figure 15.15 LES simulations of structures in turbulent flow in an Alfa Laval ART reactor. Surface of iso-vorticity is shown in the figure.

Figure 15.16 Mixing in an Alfa Laval ART reactor at the inlet (a), and 3 (b) and 5 (c) cells downstream measured with PLIF (From [3]).

Johnson, B.R. (2008) Multi-step chemical processes in a modular reactor from alfa laval. VDIBerichte, 2039, 171-176. 

The Alfa-Laval Plate Heat Exchanger reactor... 

Introduced only recently in the literature (Haugwitz et al., 2007), the open plate reactor (OPR) is based upon the well-known Alfa Laval Plate Heat Exchanger (see Chapter 4). The OPR is specifically designed to handle highly exo- or endothermic and fast reactions. The aim is to safely produce the chemicals using highly concentrated reactant solutions. The main new features of the OPR, needed to reach this objective, are the improved heat transfer capacity and the micro-mixing conditions inside the reactor. It consists of reactor plates, inside which the reactants mix and... 

The pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca has recently reported on research that has taken place over a number of years in addressing a switch from batch or semibatch processing to continuous operation. Wemersson (2007) stated that continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs), tubular reactors and micro-reactors had been evaluated. Substantial testing has also been done using the Alfa Laval plate reactor (see Chapter 5). Critical variables examined as a function of reactor type have included heat transfer capacity, mixing capacity and flow characteristics. 

At Sigma-Aldrich, a pilot study was performed for the transfer of microreactor technology into large-scale production for the synthesis of 2-benzoylpyridine through a Grignard reaction [85]. They transferred the small-scale 2 ml microreactor processes to production in a stainless steel Alfa Laval Art plate reactor and achieved rapid flow rates and continuous production of 200-300 kg of 2-benzoylpyridine per day. 

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