Eliminating barriers to entry of a production scale continuous flow reactor for the chemical industry

流动反应器是化学和制药工业采用的传统批量制造方法的连续、精益制造替代方案。连续流程制造为化工行业提供了一条通向；通过减少过程能源需求和废物产生，再支持生产以加强供应链和提高现有工艺工厂的生产能力来减少碳足迹。流动反应器本质上比目前使用的间歇式反应器更有效（由于尺寸减小），并且在各种方面提供更高的化学产品产量，改进的化学产品纯度，更低的能源成本，更低的工艺溶剂使用和更低的工艺废物产生。AM Technology是流动反应器的领先制造商，其获得专利的Coflore系列反应器在全球化学和制药行业的研发和中试阶段日常使用。迄今为止，经济障碍限制了生产规模流动反应器的广泛采用。增材制造技术将利用先进的制造技术，如增材制造，用于设备开发，作为该项目的一部分，以大大降低制造成本，并克服商业客户采用的障碍。作为该项目的一部分，将生成一个能源比较模型，并在白皮书中发布，以清楚地概述转向精益化工生产所实现的潜在节约和效率。再加上较低的制造成本，将消除化学和制药行业采用增材制造技术的经济障碍，增加增材制造技术的销售和收入，并在西北地区创造就业机会。作为该项目的一部分，AM技术正在改进的流动反应器技术将使化学工业显著增加其高价值生产，降低化学制造能耗并提高资源效率。英国化学工业在地理上集中在英格兰西北部，根据西北化学公司的数据，该行业的价值约为100亿英镑，因此，这项技术的发展将有助于LCR到2040年或更早实现净零碳排放的雄心。

Flow reactors are a continuous, lean manufacturing alternative to traditional batch-wise manufacturing methods employed by the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Continuous flow manufacturing offers the chemical industry a route towards; reducing its carbon footprint by reducing process energy requirements and waste generation, re-shoring production to strengthen supply chains and increasing existing process plant productive capacity. Flow reactors are inherently more efficient (by virtue of reduced size) than currently used batch reactors and variously offer higher yields of chemical product, improved chemical product purity, lower energy costs, lower process solvent usage and lower process waste generation.AM Technology are a leading manufacturer of flow reactors, with our patented Coflore range of reactors in daily use worldwide across the chemical and pharmaceutical industries at R&D and pilot-scale. To date, economic barriers have limited widespread adoption of production-scale flow reactors. AM Technology will exploit advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing for equipment development as part of this project to greatly decrease manufacturing costs and overcome this commercial customer barrier for adoption.An energy comparison model will be generated as part of this project and published in a white paper to clearly outline the potential savings and efficiencies to be realised by switching to lean chemical manufacturing. This, combined with lower manufacturing costs, will remove the economic barriers to technology adoption across the chemical and pharmaceutical industries and result in increased sales and revenue for AM Technology, coupled with job creation in the Northwest.The flow reactor technology being refined by AM Technology as part of this project will enable the chemical industry to significantly increase their high-value production, reduce chemical manufacturing energy consumption and increase resource efficiency. The UK chemical industry is geographically concentrated in Northwest England, with the sector worth around £10bn according to Chemicals Northwest, and as such development of this technology will contribute to the LCR's ambition to reach net zero carbon by 2040 or sooner.