2025 AIChE Annual Meeting

(682i) Exploring Flow Uniformity, Resilience, and Maintenance of Graph Theory Inspired Microreactor Networks

Authors

Agnieszka Truszkowska - Presenter, Oregon State University
Jaxyn Kirian, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Krista Harris, The University of Alabama in Huntsville
Microreactors are a promising alternative to traditional technology due to their unique features, including improved safety, sustainability, and productivity [1]. While microreactors continuously gain commercial importance, several key challenges prevent their broader utilization. One of the major issues is their practical scale-up to large production levels [2, 3]. Increasing the reactor dimensions degrades its performance, therefore the original microreactor “scale-up” was supposed to rely on “numbering-up”: using as many as tens of thousands of micro-scale devices instead [1, 3]. Due to practical challenges faced by this approach, new strategies emerged, including “internal” numbering-up where many single-channel devices would be replaced by one platform with a more complex design.

The main challenge faced by both of these approaches are interconnections, external or internal, of the individual microreactors [3]. Besides practical aspects, connecting many devices or autonomous internal modules inevitably leads to non-uniformity of their performance as the devices share a common reactant source and their environment is no longer the same. Additionally, the performance of the reactors is expected to vary at least slightly due to the non-idealities stemming from their fabrication [4] and may occur over time as a result of factors such as equipment failure or leaks [5]. Flow maldistribution is one of the main consequences of this challenge and strategies for its mitigation often include devising complex, hierarchical piping and microreactor networks [6, 7].

Recently, our group developed a methodology for creating and studying complex microreactor networks with intermediate piping focused on flow maldistribution [8]. Using classical graph theory algorithms, we were able to generate hierarchical networks that substantially differed in their structure and the autonomy of the microreactors. Our approach relied on a flow network model and we examined the networks for flow uniformity, resilience to failure, and ease of repair. We studied up to 58 interconnected microreactors and found that select designs exhibited superior performance, though all of them could be considered acceptable. We also validated some of our findings with three-dimensional direct numerical simulations. In this work, we leverage our approach to study networks of hundreds of microreactors, bringing the topologies closer to typical commercial scales. In addition to flow uniformity, resilience, and maintenance, we evaluate scaling properties of the topologies and attempt to project network performance upon the inclusion of even more devices. Finally, we introduce networks generated with advanced algorithms used in the internet-of-things paradigms, in search of improved flow uniformity with minimized energy consumption and cost [9]. We believe that our approach and findings span beyond microreactor networks, with applications in other micro- and nano-scale flows, such as artificial vasculature in biomedical engineering [10].

[1] Jensen, K.F., 2001. Microreaction engineering—is small better?. Chemical Engineering Science, 56(2), pp.293-303.

[2] Suryawanshi, P.L., Gumfekar, S.P., Bhanvase, B.A., Sonawane, S.H. and Pimplapure, M.S., 2018. A review on microreactors: Reactor fabrication, design, and cutting-edge applications. Chemical Engineering Science, 189, pp.431-448.

[3] Zhang, J., Wang, K., Teixeira, A.R., Jensen, K.F. and Luo, G., 2017. Design and scaling up of microchemical systems: a review. Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, 8(1), pp.285-305.

[4] Rebrov, E.V., Schouten, J.C. and De Croon, M.H., 2011. Single-phase fluid flow distribution and heat transfer in microstructured reactors. Chemical Engineering Science, 66(7), pp.1374-1393.

[5] Akkarawatkhoosith, N., Srichai, A., Kaewchada, A., Ngamcharussrivichai, C. and Jaree, A., 2019. Evaluation on safety and energy requirement of biodiesel production: Conventional system and microreactors. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 132, pp.294-302.

[6] Nagaki, A., Hirose, K., Tonomura, O., Taniguchi, S., Taga, T., Hasebe, S., Ishizuka, N. and Yoshida, J.I., 2016. Design of a numbering-up system of monolithic microreactors and its application to synthesis of a key intermediate of valsartan. Organic Process Research & Development, 20(3), pp.687-691.

[7] Kuijpers, K.P., van Dijk, M.A., Rumeur, Q.G., Hessel, V., Su, Y. and Noël, T., 2017. A sensitivity analysis of a numbered-up photomicroreactor system. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 2(2), pp.109-115.

[8] J. Kirian, M. Daniels, K. Harris, and A. Truszkowska, Creating resilient networks of microreactors: a graph theory approach, Accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification

[9] Srinidhi, N.N., Kumar, S.D. and Venugopal, K.R., 2019. Network optimizations in the Internet of Things: A review. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal, 22(1), pp.1-21.

[10] Fleischer, S., Tavakol, D.N. and Vunjak‐Novakovic, G., 2020. From arteries to capillaries: approaches to engineering human vasculature. Advanced Functional Materials, 30(37), p.1910811.