Modular Concept Inspired by Microchemical Systems and Application to Distillation

Abstract Microreactors and micro heat exchangers have very unique characteristics due to the small size of their channels. Our close examination of the properties of microchemical systems has resulted in the finding that microchannel reactor systems have modular structures, a feature which may be exploited to create novel systems. In microreactors, reagents are mixed in a dedicated device while another microchannel is used to exchange heat. For this reason, the chemical reactor, which is conventionally treated as a unit operation, may be decomposed into more elementary operations, thereby enabling the development of new chemical apparatuses by reconfiguring the individual modules. This presentation introduces a conceptual framework for the elementary operation of these chemical apparatuses. An example of the application of these concepts to the development of a new distillation device will be discussed.