Process intensification in vapor–liquid mass transfer: The state-of-the-art

The concept of process intensification(PI) has absorbed diverse definitions and stays true to the mission—"do more with less", which is an approach purposed by chemical engineers to solve the global energy environment problems. To date, the focus of PI has been on processes mainly involving vapor/liquid systems. Based on the fundamental principles of vapor–liquid mass transfer process like distillation and absorption, there are three strategies to intensify interphase mass transfer: enhancing the overall driving force, improving the mass transfer coefficient and enlarging the vapor–liquid interfacial area. More specifically, this article herein provides an overview of various technologies to strengthen the vapor–liquid mass transfer, including application of external fields, addition of third substances, micro-chemical technology and usage of solid foam, with the objective to contribute to the future developments and potential applications of PI in scientific research and industrial sectors.     

A mass and energy balance stage model for cyclic distillation

Cyclic distillation is an emerging process intensification technology, which can improve separation efficiency compared to conventional distillation. As most current models only account for the mass transfer, there is a lack of a stage model for cyclic distillation processes, which includes considerations of both mass and energy transfer. Such a model is presented in this article, and using this model, selected case studies, describing binary and multiple component systems with both ideal and nonideal liquid phases, are investigated. The presented stage model allows for the modeling of both mass and energy transfer for a cyclic distillation process and allows for multiple feed locations, as well as side draws. With the energy balances included, the dynamic vapor flow rate can be described. This was shown to have a significant effect on the separation, especially for cases where the change in the vapor flow over the column height was high.     

液液萃取塔研究的若干新进展及展望

液液萃取是应用广泛的分离技术,在石油化工、制药提取、金属分离等领域都有重要的应用。萃取塔作为常见的分离设备当前的设计还十分依赖于以往的经验,需要进行大量的实验。文章综述了萃取塔设备的研究现状,总结了对塔内流场、液滴和浓度场的实验测量技术,介绍了基于液滴的模型化方法和多尺度计算流体力学模拟方法,归纳了过程强化的相关研究进展。并对萃取塔未来的研究发展进行了展望,在数字化和可持续的发展背景下,未来在实验方面可以关注实时测量和优化,模型化方面关注于微观界面行为和传质影响的描述,在基于先进的实验和模拟技术基础之上,结合新萃取体系进行萃取设备和内构件的开发,从而实现过程强化,以解决化工过程面临的共同挑战。     

Chemisorption of CO2 in a gas–liquid vortex reactor: An interphase mass transfer efficiency assessment

To develop cost-effective CO₂ capture technology process intensification will play a vital role. In this work, the capabilities of a gas–liquid vortex reactor (GLVR) as novel process intensification equipment are evaluated by studying its interphase mass transfer parameters to build up the fundamentals for its future application to for example, CO₂ capture. The NaOH-CO₂ chemisorption system and Danckwerts' model are applied to obtain the effective interfacial area and liquid-side mass transfer coefficient. Results show that the gas–liquid contact in the GLVR is capable of both generating a large interfacial area in a small reactor volume and creating a region with high-energy dissipation to improve mass transfer. A comparison of the volumetric mass transfer coefficients with data reported in literature for conventional and intensified reactor types confirms a superior mass transfer efficiency and, most importantly, a favorable energetic efficiency of the GLVR.     

Hierarchical multiscale model-based design of experiments, catalysts, and reactors for fuel processing

In this paper a hierarchical multiscale simulation framework is outlined and experimental data injection into this framework is discussed. Specifically, we discuss multiscale model-based design of experiments to optimize the chemical information content of a detailed reaction mechanism in order to improve the fidelity and accuracy of reaction models. Extension of this framework to product (catalyst) design is briefly touched upon. Furthermore, we illustrate the use of such detailed and reduced kinetic models in reactor optimization as an example toward more conventional process design. It is proposed that hierarchical multiscale modeling offers a systematic framework for identification of the important scale(s) and model(s) where one should focus research efforts on. The ammonia decomposition on ruthenium to produce hydrogen and the water–gas shift reactions on platinum for converting syngas to hydrogen serve as illustrative fuel processing examples of various topics. The former is used to illustrate hierarchical multiscale model development and model-based parameter estimation as well as product engineering. The latter is employed to demonstrate model reduction and process optimization. Finally, opportunities for process design and control in portable microchemical devices (lab-on-a chip) for power generation are discussed.     

聚合过程强化技术的发展

聚合过程强化技术是实现聚合过程效能最大化、聚合物产品结构可控化以及聚合过程和产品绿色化的有效技术手段。本文综述了聚合过程强化技术的国内外进展,从流动与混合强化、传热与传质强化、反应耦合过程强化、超临界流体强化、外场强化等方面重点分析了不同聚合过程强化技术的特点,并对聚合过程强化技术中存在的问题进行了探讨。指出聚合过程强化应注重聚合动力学特性和设备特性的有效耦合,基于聚合反应特性的过程强化方法是今后的发展方向。     

Intensive technologies for drying a lump material in a dense bed

The article is devoted to the urgent scientific and practical problem of energy and resource conservation upon drying a lump material in a dense bed. A mathematical model of heat and mass transfer in a dense bed and the verification of its adequacy have been presented. The problem of optimizing energy consumption based on the intensification of the in-bed drying process has been solved by generating a decaying thermal wave. The operation mode has been considered for a conveyor type roasting machine under obtained optimal parameters. The potentialities of resource and energy conservation have been revealed in the technology for the thermal treatment of lump materials in a dense bed using conveyor type roasting machines.     

Among the trends for a modern chemical engineering,the third paradigm: The time and length multiscale approach as an efficient tool for process intensification and product design and engineering

To respond to the changing needs of the chemical and related industries in order both to meet today's economy demands and to remain competitive in global trade, a modern chemical engineering is vital to satisfy both the market requirements for specific nano and microscale end-use properties of products, and the social and environmental constraints of industrial meso and macroscale processes. Thus an integrated system approach of complex multidisciplinary, non-linear, non-equilibrium processes and phenomena occurring on different length and time scales of the supply chain is required. That is, a good understanding of how phenomena at a smaller length-scale relates to properties and behaviour at a longer length-scale is necessary (from the molecular-scale to the production-scales). This has been defined as the triplet “molecular Processes-Product-Process (3PE)” integrated multiscale approach of chemical engineering. Indeed a modern chemical engineering can be summarized by four main objectives: (1) Increase productivity and selectivity through intensification of intelligent operations and a multiscale approach to processes control: nano and micro-tailoring of materials with controlled structure. (2) Design novel equipment based on scientific principles and new production methods: process intensification using multifunctional reactors and micro-engineering for micro structured equipment. (3) Manufacturing end-use properties to synthesize structured products, combining several functions required by the customer with a special emphasis on complex fluids and solid technology, necessating molecular modeling, polymorph prediction and sensor development. (4) Implement multiscale application of computational chemical engineering modeling and simulation to real-life situations from the molecular-scale to the production-scale, e.g., in order to understand how phenomena at a smaller length-scale relate to properties and behaviour at a longer length-scale. The presentation will emphasize the 3PE multiscale approach of chemical engineering for investigations in the previous objectives and on its success due to the today's considerable progress in the use of scientific instrumentation, in modeling, simulation and computer-aided tools, and in the systematic design methods.     

Future Challenges in Automotive Emission Control

The emissions from automotive vehicles are discussed in a global perspective. Scenarios for future energy production, energy consumption, growth of population and trade are considered as major drivers for the emission legislation. In particular the propulsion chain from energy via fuel and drive train is considered as a coupled system and innovation or breakthrough in one area will change the competitiveness for technologies in other areas. Presently the trade-off between engine-out NO _x emissions and fuel consumptions put focus on NO _x reduction in oxygen excess. The major technological and scientific challenges for catalytic lean NO _x reduction are discussed.     

精馏技术研究进展与工业应用

精馏是化学工业中应用最广泛的关键共性技术,广泛应用于石油、化工、化肥、制药、环境保护等行业。精馏具有应用广泛、技术成熟等优点,但存在设备投资大、分离能耗高等问题,因此研究开发新型高效传质元件、开发新型节能精馏技术,具有重要的社会意义和经济价值。本文从精馏塔类型、流体力学性能、传质性能、塔器大型化、过程节能、过程强化等方面,介绍了精馏技术的研究进展与工业应用。对于板式塔,从气液两相流动状态、压降、漏液和雾沫夹带方面研究了塔板的流体力学性能;对于填料塔,从压降、液泛和持液量方面研究了填料塔的流体力学性能,但目前的研究仍以经验关联式为主,缺乏严谨的的理论模型。对于气液两相的传质性能研究,简述了气液两相传质理论,但科学、精准的传质模型尚未提出。对于塔器大型化的应用研究,介绍了塔板、气液分布器和支撑装置等大型化关键技术的工业应用。从精馏过程典型节能技术、耦合节能技术、流程节能技术、低温余热回收和特殊精馏等方面,介绍了精馏过程节能与强化的应用进展。文章最后对精馏过程的传质、强化和集成进行了展望。     

微尺度内液-液传质及反应过程强化的研究进展

微化工技术作为一种高效的过程强化技术获得了广泛应用。本文从流动、传递及反应三者之间的耦合机制出发,系统综述了近十五年以来关于微尺度内液-液两相流动与传质过程特征、强化传质的微反应器、评价标准及其在化学品合成与材料制备中的应用等方面的研究进展,并对其未来发展方向进行了展望。     

舞动的液滴：界面现象与过程调控

液滴动态行为的调控在包括微化工、相变传热、喷雾冷却、农药喷洒、微流控芯片等领域都具有广泛的应用。液滴润湿过程包含着复杂的固液界面现象,借助界面效应对液滴动态行为进行调控是液滴调控领域的热点方向。将围绕多尺度润湿、界面结构驱动的液滴动态行为等过程中的若干科学问题进行综述。首先介绍了多尺度表面润湿基本理论,讨论了核化过程、液滴多尺度润湿、液滴弹跳和液滴多向迁移过程及液滴撞击固体表面过程中的固液界面作用机理,并展现了液滴动态调控在相变传热、喷墨打印、农药喷洒和微流控等工业过程的调控作用、应用以及主要发展趋势和方向。     

A review on combustion synthesis intensification by means of microwave energy

Combustion synthesis (CS) is a materials manufacturing technique, which gained increased attention by both academia and industries, due to its intrinsic energy saving characteristics and high purity of the products. Energy requirements for CS are limited to the ignition step, since the desired products are obtained by using the heat generated by exothermic reactions occurring between the reactants.CS has been here addressed from a process intensification perspective, since CS characteristics perfectly fit into several process intensification definitions, aims and approaches.Particular attention has been dedicated to the use of microwaves as energy source for CS, and the benefits deriving from the combination of these two techniques have been reviewed. The doubtless better energy transfer efficiency of microwaves, with respect to conventional heating techniques, arising from the direct interaction of the electromagnetic energy with the reactants, contributes to further intensify both solid state and solution CS processes.Moreover, microwaves peculiarities, such as their selective and volumetric nature, together with their energy transfer nature, open new attractive opportunities for CS in different fields of materials science, like joining and advanced protective coatings. Innovative strategies of microwaves-ignited and/or sustained CS for the process intensification of advanced materials manufacturing are proposed as well.     

Multiscale model based design of an energy-intensified novel adsorptive reactor process for the water gas shift reaction

In this work, an adsorptive reactor (AR) process is considered that can energetically intensify the water gas shift reaction (WGSR). To best understand AR process behavior, a multiscale, dynamic, process model is developed. This multiscale model enables the quantification of catalyst and adsorbent effectiveness factors within the reactor environment, obliviating the commonly employed assumption that these factors are constant. Simulations of the AR's alternating adsorption-reaction/desorption operation, using the proposed model, illustrate rapid convergence to a long-term periodic solution. The obtained simulation results quantify the influence of key operating conditions and design parameters (e.g., reactor temperature/pressure, W_cat/F_CO, W_ad/F_CO, F_H2O/F_CO ratios, and pellet size) on the AR's behavior. They also demonstrate, for pellet diameters used at the industrial scale, significant temporal and axial variation of the catalyst/adsorbent pellet effectiveness factors. Finally, the energetic intensification benefits of the proposed AR process over conventional WGSR packed-bed reactors are quantified.     

A three-zone mass transfer model for a rotating packed bed

A rotating packed bed (RPB) is recognized for its merits in chemical process intensification. In most studies of RPB mass transfer modeling, however, the effects of the end and cavity zones have not been taken into consideration, since it was very difficult to distinguish the end and bulk zones by hydrodynamics and mass transfer process. In this work, the radial thickness of the end zone was obtained by developing a probability method and imaging experiments to separate the end and bulk zones. A three-zone model, including end, bulk, and cavity zones, of the overall gas-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient (K_Ga)t was first established. Experiments of dissolved MEA chemisorption of CO₂ were carried out to validate the proposed three-zone mass transfer model. The results of the MEA-CO₂ absorption experiments showed that the experimentally obtained values of CO₂ absorption efficiency were in agreement within ±20% with the model predictions.     

Integrated fuel processors for fuel cell application: A review

This report documents the key technological progress made over last two decades in the field of development of integrated fuel processor for hydrogen generation. Studies on process optimization based on numerical simulation/calculation, mass and energy management, parametric adjustment have been reported. A number of these studies discuss the application of reforming process assisted by other technologies such as pressure swing adsorption and membrane separation to enhance the hydrogen productivity and/or purity. However, for such systems the extent of integration among and between components remains limited. Accordingly, the net efficiency is compromised due to the mass/heat transfer rate and reaction dynamics either in the individual units or the complete system. Process intensification technologies such as engineered catalysts, on-site heat production/removal and product purification can not only allow precise control of reaction and heat/mass transfer rates, but also help optimize the operation conditions, and, consequently, improve overall efficiency and mitigate the requirement for materials and capital investment. It seems that micro-scale technologies, possessing the typical characteristics of process intensification technologies, have potential for making the integrated fuel processor into practice.     

高剪切混合器研究与应用进展

高剪切混合器作为一种能量密集型的过程强化手段,具有剪切速率高、局部能量耗散率高的特点,可以实现均质、乳化、溶解、分散、悬浮、结晶、破碎、反应等过程的强化,但尚缺少理性设计方法的系统研究。本文简述了高剪切混合器分类、工作模式,总结了操作参数、结构参数、物性参数等对高剪切混合器的流动与返混特性、微观混合特性、乳化和液液传质特性、气泡分散与气液传质特性、固体破碎与分散特性等的影响规律,简介了高剪切混合设备的工业实用案例;进而提出了该领域有待深入拓展的研究方向,包括高剪切混合器能量效率的提升途径、多相体系下高剪切混合器模型的建立方法、高剪切混合器与其他单元操作耦合规律、高剪切作用与外场协同强化机理、基于高剪切混合器的过程强化工艺优化等。     

The triplet “molecular processes–product–process” engineering: the future of chemical engineering ?

Today chemical engineering has to answer to the changing needs of the chemical and related process industries and to meet the market demands. Being a key to survival in globalization of trade and competition, the evolution of chemical engineering is thus necessary. Its ability to cope with the scientific and technological problems encountered will be appraised in this paper. To satisfy both the markets requirements for specific end-use properties of products and the social and environmental constraints of the industrial-scale processes, it is shown that a necessary progress is coming via a multidisciplinary and a time and length multiscale approach. This will be obtained due to breakthroughs in molecular modelling, scientific instrumentation and related signal processing and powerful computational tools. For the future of chemical engineering four main objectives are concerned: (a) to increase productivity and selectivity through intelligent operations via intensification and multiscale control of processes; (b) to design novel equipment based on scientific principles and new methods of production: process intensification; (c) to extend chemical engineering methodology to product focussed engineering, i.e. manufacturing and synthesizing end-use properties required by the customer, which needs a triplet “molecular processes–product–process” engineering; (d) to implement multiscale application of computational chemical engineering modelling and simulation to real-life situations, from the molecular scale to the overall complex production scale.     

Multiscale molecular modeling in nanostructured material design and process system engineering

Atomistic-based simulations such as molecular mechanics, molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo-based methods have come into wide use for material design. Using these atomistic simulation tools, we can analyze molecular structure on the scale of 0.1–10 nm. However, difficulty arises concerning limitations of the time and length scale involved in the simulation. Although a possible molecular structure can be simulated by the atom-based simulations, it is less realistic to predict the mesoscopic structure defined on the scale of 100–1000 nm, for example the morphology of polymer blends and composites, which often dominates actual material properties. For the morphology on these scales, mesoscopic simulations such as the dynamic mean field density functional theory and dissipative particle dynamics are available as alternatives to atomistic simulations. It is therefore inevitable to adopt a mesoscopic simulation technique and bridge the gap between atomistic and mesoscopic simulations for an effective material design. Furthermore, it is possible to transfer the simulated mesoscopic structure to finite elements modeling tools for calculating macroscopic properties for the systems of interest.In this contribution, a hierarchical procedure for bridging the gap between atomistic and macroscopic modeling passing through mesoscopic simulations will be presented and discussed. The concept of multiscale (or many scale) modeling will be outlined, and examples of applications of single scale and multiscale procedures for nanostructured systems of industrial interest will be presented. In particular the following industrial applications will be considered: (i) polymer-organoclay nanocomposites of a montmorillonite–polymer–surface modifier system; (ii) mesoscale simulation for diblock copolymers with dispersion of nanoparticels; (iii) polymer–carbon nanotubes system and (iv) applications of multiscale modeling for process systems engineering.