The ProcessNet Group within the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA), Frankfurt, has published an updated “Roadmap Chemical Reaction Engineering.”
According to DECHEMA, chemical reaction engineering currently is undergoing a fundamental change: As quality and innovative properties of novel products are directly linked to the production process, reaction engineering is becoming an integral part of product design and process development. Micro-structured polymers or functional nanoparticles require a profound understanding and control of the chemical reaction. At the same time, 3D printing and digitalization allow tailoring of devices to optimize fluid and particle flow, heat and mass transport, reaction and structural properties for a specific reaction. New approaches such as multi-scale modeling and simulation in combination with modern measurement techniques open up the path for a rational approach to design a chemical process from the molecular level to the industrial scale.
The completely revised Roadmap starts with a general definition and classification of chemical reaction engineering in the context of the process industries and describes chemical reaction engineering in the lab. It presents mathematical and modeling approaches as well as the principles of reactor design, process development and process intensification. Six case studies demonstrate how the concepts can be implemented in practical applications.