Reaction Process Machinery Roadmap: status determination and challenges for research and development

Climate protection, sustainability, the transformation of the energy and raw materials supply - all challenges facing the chemical industry and its customers are direct drivers for the development of chemical reaction engineering. The third, updated and thoroughly revised edition of the „Roadmap Chemical Reaction Engineering“ therefore not only presents the current state of chemical reaction engineering. By formulating current research needs, it also points the way for future development. It is available in English in order to reach a wide audience and is aimed at experts in chemical reaction engineering and related disciplines as well as young scientists, research sponsors and anyone interested in chemical processes.

The Chemical Reaction Engineering Roadmap was developed by the DECHEMA Chemical Reaction Engineering Division and is based on the expertise of over 50 experts from industry and academic research. They identify three key trends in technical chemistry and process engineering: integrated product and process design, process diagnostics using models, operando analyses and process data, and the electrification of chemical processes and chemical energy storage. These trends also run through the subject areas that the authors describe in detail.

In experimental reaction technology, the main focus is on the design of laboratory reactors, high-throughput methods and measurements that take place as far as possible in real time and in the process. Mathematical modelling and simulation have been given a new boost by the resulting large amounts of data; trends such as the use of data-based methods mean that further enormous progress can be expected in the coming years; however, their application also requires free access to the data and suitable interfaces and models. A process design that is as seamless as possible, from the laboratory to the industrial process, is made easier by the many new findings, but is still far from being standard. In addition to further fundamental research, new developments in equipment in laboratories and pilot plants and apparatus in industrial production are also necessary.

For all these areas, the experts will present the state of the art and developments in recent years. However, they also do not fail to point out existing research needs and provide a detailed and organised list of the issues to which research and development must give priority.

This positioning is complemented by six case studies that show the importance that reaction technology continues to have in practice: two case studies are dedicated to CO2 reduction, one in the dry reforming of methane and the other in the electrolytic processing of CO2. The case study on high-temperature processes and the most energy-efficient reactor design possible is in a similar context. In the context of the circular economy, special attention must be paid to the handling of plastics, which is examined both from the perspective of controlled polymerisation and with regard to recycling by pyrolysis. The last case study is dedicated to the extraction of active pharmaceutical ingredients from natural extracts.

The Chemical Reaction Engineering Roadmap thus spans the broad spectrum of chemical reaction engineering and clearly demonstrates the important role this discipline plays in overcoming upcoming technical challenges.

Article from "idw - Informationsdienst Wissenschaft" from 13 September 2023