Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik designs, manufactures and supplies production reactors for production capacities of up to 20,000 t/a. The microreaction technology behind is called MIPROWA.
The secret of Miprowa technology is the combination of rectangular channels with planar, comb shaped static mixing inserts. The significantly higher surface-to-volume ratio of the
channels compared to a round tube causes a considerably improved heat transfer between process and service medium. The static mixing inserts in the channels even increase this effect and additionally cause efficient continuous mixing also for multiphase reactions. Exact temperature control enables increased selectivity and yield for highly exothermic reactions. Our integrated scale-up concept guarantees a rapid scaleup within similar channel geometries. The channel configuration from pilot stage can simply be equaled up to production scale with the Miprowa Matrix reactor. The throughput is increased to the desired production capacity by a parallel setup of a large number of channels within one reactor.
Ehrfeld Mikrotechnik designed, manufactured and supplied a MIPROWA production reactor for Shaoxing Eastlake High-Tech (China) for a production capacity of up to 10,000 t/a in 2016. The MIPROWA millireactor with a throughput of about 1m3/h has a nominal width of 400 mm and a length of 7 m and contains about 150 rectangular reaction channels with
exchangeable static mixers. The continuously operated millireactor replaced more than 20 batch reactors. The fast and strong exothermic reaction is of alkoxylation type.
Decision from Shaoxing Eastlake High-Tech for Miprowa technology was driven by achievable product quality, significantly improved yield, safety aspects and a short return on investment.
From first talks to the commissioning of the production plant — took the company less than four years. Since then, the processes have been running continuously and without any interruptions. In 2018 Shaoxing Eastlake implemented two additional millireactors of same size. The company recovered its first investment in MRT within almost one year.
In October 2021 Ehrfeld designed, manufactured and supplied two MIPORWA production reactors even doubling this size. These reactors consist of six modular stages each with a volume of 80 l and will have a throughput of up to 20,000 t/a. And three months ago a third Miprowa production reactor in the same size was ordered.
To reduce costs and efforts for downstream processing, microreaction technology can offer great benefits, because of yield increase compared to batch processes. Results are fewer by-products and less waste within the production processes. This can also lead to a significant contribution to climate protection and reduced energy demand for chemical and pharmaceutical processes overall.
Please don’t forget to pass by at the Achema in hall 9.1 at booth F12 and to visit the Flow Chemistry Pavilion.
