Oregon State University

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Oregon State University University of Ljubljana
Microreactor Engineering Workshop held in
Ljubljana June 21-23 2004
Instructors Dr. Goran Jovanovic, Oregon
State University Dr. Igor Plazl, University of
Ljubljana
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Workshop Goals The First goal of this workshop
is to develop criteria and justifications for the
application of microscale reactor
technology. The Second goal of this workshop is
to introduce and define the elements of
microreactor design.
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Workshop Objectives
The first objective of this workshop is to
introduce participants to practical application
of microscale reactor systems. Emphases will be
given to applications that Include -
heterogeneous catalytic reactions, - homogenous
gas/liquid phase reactions, - and multiphase
reactions.
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Objectives cont.
The second objective is to introduce necessary
tools for the analysis of non-ideal flow in
microreactor vessels. The third objective of
the workshop is to demonstrate the applicability
of different microreactor systems in solving
chemical reaction problems in environmental,
biochemical, and chemical processes.
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Objectives cont.
The fourth objective of the workshop is to engage
and encourage participant to formulate, solve,
and realize the design of a microreactor system
that is relevant to their own professional needs
and area of interest. This activity is
planned to take place after the workshop through
internet correspondence with workshop
instructors.
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• Workshop Learning Objectives
• By the end of the workshop, you will be able
• To asses under what conditions (reactor
• geometry, diffusion, convection, chemical
• kinetics) a given microreactor is more
• efficient/productive than classical
• macro-reactor.
• To develop mathematical models evaluate
• the performance of microreactors.

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Note
Mathematical modeling is adopted as an
engineering approach to the development and
analysis of chemical microreactor systems.
Consequently, it is expected that workshop
participants are familiar with at least one
numerical software package that can solve
mathematical models containing systems of
differential equations. No preference will be
given to any of the available software packages
(Matlab, Mathematica, Femlab, any CFD system
that can handle chemical reactions, and/or
programming using Fortran or C).
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TOPICS

• PART I
• State of the art micro reaction technology.
• Fabrication techniques for microreactor
  machining.
• Unit operations associated with microreactor
  systems.
• PART II
• Review of chemical kinetics for microreactor
  applications.
• Microreactor performance using Residence Time
  Distribution.
• 6. Mathematical modeling of chemical reaction
  processes
• in microreactors.

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TOPICS Cont.

• PART III
• From Idea to Realization (seminar)
• Project

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• Suggested Texts
• (a) W. Ehrfeld, V. Hessel and H. Lowe,
  "Microreactors",
• Wiley -VCH 2000
• (b) O. Levenspiel, "The Chemical Reaction
  Omnibook",
• OSU Book Stores Inc. (1997)
• V. Hessel, S . Hardt, and H. Lowe,Chemical Micro
  
• Process Engineering
• Wiley -VCH 2004

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Microscale Reactor - Definition
A microscale reactor is a device whose operation
depends on precisely controlled design features
with characteristic dimensions from submillimeter
to submicrometer. A microscale reactor does not
have to be scaled-up, but numbered-up.
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Microscale Reactors Areas of Application
Auto Industry Catalytic converters Soot
converter for diesel engines Air-conditioning .
Fuel cells
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Microscale Reactors Areas of Application
Home Applications Water treatment Power
generation Cooling/Heating . In-situ chemical
production
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Microscale Reactors Areas of Application
Personal Chemistry Oxidants/Decontamination Drug
synthesis/Delivery Insect repellents Sunscreen Wou
nd healers Personal diagnostic
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Microscale Reactors Areas of Application
Environmental Applications In-situ destruction
of chemicals In-situ production of
chemicals Distributed production of
chemicals Remote production of chemicals Integr
ated/on platform production
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Location Specific Application of µ-Reactors
Space platforms and missions Airplanes Ships and
off-shore platforms Vehicles See floor Off site
remote production of chemicals Off site
diagnostic Human implants Household
deployment In-situ production/deployment
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Expected Developments 3 Years From Now
Integrated drug discovery Production of
chemicals in µ-chemical plants µ-(bio)reactors
in human medical care Biomedical devices based
on µ-reactors First application of personal
chemistry
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Expected Developments 3 Years From Now(2001)
Demonstration of Generation of decontaminates
for chemical and biological decontamination
Portable fuel processing Generation of fog and
emulsions. Portable water purification
devices Air purification devices for personal
use Decommissioning of legacy chemicals
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Expected Developments 10 Years From Now (2001)
103 types of µ-lab on chips 30 of new chemicals
will be produced exclusively in
µ-reactors Average household will have more than
10 µ-chemical integrated devices Chemical
photonic cells Reactors integrated with solar
cells for fuel upgrade food production
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Fundamental Advantages of Microscale Chemical
Processes
Due to Decrease of Physical Size Decrease in
Linear Dimensions increases gradients (25000
W/m2K) Increase of Surface-to-Volume
Ratio specific surface 10000-50000
m2/m3 Decrease in Volume replaces batch with
continuous flow processes Integration With
Other Systems
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Fundamental Advantages of Microscale Chemical
Processes
Due to Increase of Number of Units Fast and
Inexpensive Screening catalysts, chem.
synthesis, serial reactions, biotechnology Prod
uction Flexibility in Capacity Process
Robustness
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Fundamental Advantages of Microscale Chemical
Processes
Related to Applications Faster transfer of
research results into production Earlier start of
of production at lower cost Easier scale-up of
process capacity Replacing batch with continuous
processes Distributed production Safety Security
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Fundamental Advantages of Microscale Chemical
Processes
Related to Reactor Performance Intensification
of all transport phenomena Change in product
properties Change in product distribution Change
in chemical kinetics
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MicrolaminationHeat Exchanger/Gas
Desorber/Dechlorinator/Bioreactor

• Patterning
• laser
• wet etch
• wire EDM

• Contactor/Fin
• solid (heat transfer)
• microporous (gas separation)
• coated (catalyst, bioenzyme)

Micrograph courtesy of PNNL
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NiAl Conversion
15 minutes

3 hours
32 AlNi thickness NiAl
10 hours
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Shape Variation in Microlamination
microchannels
fins
debonding
Micrograph courtesy of PNNL
Micrograph courtesy of PNNL
warpage
misregistration
Micrograph courtesy of ARC
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Layer Defects
Foil distortion Incomplete reaction
Alligatoring reaction porosity
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µlamination Results
Paul et al. 2000, 2002a,b
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