Feb 6 2008
NanoDynamics Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary NDFusion provides process intensification (PI) module technology for commercial solvent stripping applications. The company’s state-of-the-art rotating tube reactor (RTR) continuous process module provides an environment for the rapid reduction of solvent levels within a chemical processing stream, without degrading valuable heat or shear-sensitive products. A controllable thin film is generated inside the rotating tube, creating high surface areas for heat and mass transfer processes. The combined internal vacuum conditions and external addition of heat to the rotating tube result in significantly high solvent removal rates.
“Traditional solvent stripping technologies either don’t remove enough of the solvent from the product or can damage it to an extent that it no longer has commercial value,” said Dr. Alan Rae, vice president of NanoDynamics’ strategic business unit ND Innovations. “With NDFusion’s process intensification module technology, specialty solvents are efficiently and safely recaptured for re-use – resulting in waste reduction that is both cost- saving and environmentally responsible. The technology also offers green chemistry benefits in efficient energy consumption due to the thin films’ enhanced heat transfer capabilities.”
Process intensification revisits the fundamentals of fluid dynamics and is created when mixing occurs on a nano or micro scale, enhanced by high shear conditions using thin films. Unlike normal batch chemical processes, scale-up issues are minimized as every volume element experiences precise, identical process conditions and residence times.
“When compared to traditional chemical manufacturing processes, NDFusion’s process intensification technology offers greater process flexibility, offering scalability in throughput and reaction times, and a number of reactor configuration options,” Dr. Rae said. “It also provides an improved method for bench-through-plant scale-up as it eliminates the typical challenges of heat transfer and other surface phenomena, as well as those associated with mixing and thermal transfer dynamics.”
The application of NDFusion’s process intensification technology in solvent removal has been successfully demonstrated at the bench scale.