Abstract
Microreactors and other microdevices have proven to be very efficient tools for process intensification in chemical production due to high mass and heat transfer, low temperature gradient, fast and efficient mixing, and short residence times. Microreactor technology is becoming an increasingly important concept, already successfully used at laboratory scale and in some cases even at pilot and production scale. However, there are still some issues that need to be explored for this technology to be used more widely, such as automation and integration, synthesis of the optimal configurations of microprocess units, process optimization, and cost analysis. The aim of this work is considering process intensification based on microprocess engineering, to identify the challenges involved and to provide a basis for the development of a computer-aided framework for design, optimization, and synthesis of integrated microprocess systems. At the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Maribor, the acquisition of microprocesses equipment is planned as part of the ongoing Upgrading national research infrastructures ? RIUM project. The main vision for the future is to combine mathematical optimization and synthesis of microprocessing systems with experimental testing of various configurations of microreactors and other devices. Based on experimental data, a library of process models for microdevices would be created as part of the MIPSYN-Global process synthesizer, a new successor to the earlier MIPSYN synthesizer. The goal is to create synergies between laboratory microdevices and mathematical programming for the efficient design and optimization of various process applications based on microtechnology.
