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With teamwork from batch to continuous production process

Press Release

Innovative reactor technology combined with plant design and construction from a single source.

"Thanks to the cooperation between reactor manufacturer Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik, process specialist ENCOS and plant engineering company DMT GROUP, it is now possible to implement continuous process plants for the chemical industry - in an application field in which batch processes were previously required," reports Frank Schlüter, Technical Manager of ENCOS GmbH & Co. KG, enthusiastically.

"The use of large and economical millistructure reactors is now possible for the first time by means of an optimized scale-up. Together we are in a position to supply continuously operating production plants on a turn-key basis, especially for substance syntheses that are difficult to master," reports Dr. Frank Sowa of the DMT GROUP.

"The customer benefit here is the integrated approach of reactor expertise, process know-how and international plant competence," stresses Dr. Joachim Heck, Managing Director of Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik GmbH.

Miprowa® production reactor

Miprowa® production reactor for a throughput capacity of up to 10,000 t/a with a nominal diameter of 400 mm and a length of 7.50 meters.

Opened Miprowa® production reactor

Opened Miprowa® production reactor with 154 rectangular reaction channels and static mixing elements.

Continuously running Miprowa® production reactors at Shaoxing Eastlake High-Tech

Continuously running Miprowa® production reactors at Shaoxing Eastlake High-Tech near Shanghai, China.

With immediate effect Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik, ENCOS and the DMT GROUP will be using their know-how and skills in partnership for projects worldwide to support customers in converting their batch production processes to optimized continuous production processes. The core of this promising strategy is the MIPROWA® production reactor from Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik and the process simulation software tailored by ENCOS for this millistructure reactor. With this integral concept it is possible to offer the customer a service from process simulation to the finished plant on production scale.

The team players at a glance - this competence network ensures that interface problems do not even arise: Ehrfeld, expert in the development, design and manufacture of high-performance reactors for the chemical industry; ENCOS, specialist for reactor design and process intensification in chemical plant engineering; DMT GROUP, internationally renowned supplier of turn-key process plants.

Micro-reaction technology now provides decisive impulses for making chemical process engineering plants more compact, efficient and safe. Compared to classical reactors, the ratio of surface area to reaction volume is much larger. As a result, reaction temperatures can be better controlled, undesired side reactions suppressed and the process duration significantly shortened. In order to achieve production-relevant throughputs, the principle of microstructuring is transferred to structures in the millimeter range.

The technology developed by Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik using the example of the MIPROWA® production reactor combines these advantages with an integral scale-up concept that allows all relevant reaction parameters to be determined on a laboratory scale (LAB) and the elementary process parameters on a pilot plant scale (MATRIX) using two standard sizes. For the decisive scale-up step to production scale, ENCOS and Ehrfeld have developed simulation software as part of a joint R&D project. The experimental effort for process development and optimization can thus be significantly reduced. As a result, reactors ranging from laboratory size to MIPROWA® production reactors with a production capacity of 10,000 t/a and more can now be scaled even more efficiently. Each of these reactors has a throughput of approx. 1 m³/h with a nominal width of 400 mm and a length of 7 m each, making them the largest millistructure reactors worldwide. All the advantages of micro reaction technology are retained. This is mainly reflected in the highly efficient heat transfer, fast mixing, defined and reproducible residence times, simple process control and a low hold-up. Continuous process control, especially for reaction systems that are otherwise difficult to control, ensures a higher yield, coupled with improved product quality and optimized plant safety. As a result of the elimination of set-up times and reduced personnel requirements, payback times are minimal. In addition, its use in the "Power to X" context, for example, also makes a valuable contribution to decarbonization.

The novel system is implemented by means of sophisticated process simulation and precisely tailored plant engineering under the leadership of the DMT GROUP. Process development is tailor-made for the customer's product. Coordination of the specialists from Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik and ENCOS as well as the project realization is ensured worldwide by the DMT GROUP.

Contact & further information:

Frank Schlüter (Technical Director), sales(at)encos.LÖSCHEN.de 
+49 40 751158 19

Further information on the companies involved:

Based on an integrated scale-up principle, Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik GmbH develops and manufactures reactors ranging from laboratory size to MIPROWA® production reactors with a production capacity of 10,000 t/a and more.

ENCOS GmbH & Co. KG is renowned for its proven innovative competence in the field of thermal separation technology and chemical reaction engineering. Comprehensive experience in the field of modelling and process simulation is a central basis for this.

DMT GmbH & Co. KG (DMT GROUP) in Essen with its focus on "engineering services" realizes, among other things, worldwide plant engineering projects in the process industry. The company, which has been creating sophisticated engineering solutions since 1737, today implements turnkey plants on all continents. DMT GROUP is also the management company of all engineering companies of TÜV NORD GROUP, which also includes ENCOS.

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