Lake Como 2|4 October 2011 - CHIMICA Oggi/Chemistry Today

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ABSTRACT
BIOGRAPHY
Manufacturing solutions for microreactors and continuous fl ow chemistry
Dirk Kirschneck
Microinnova - Austria
Dirk Kirschneck
Dirk Kirschneck founded Microinnova in 2003 (Managing Director, Majority owner).
He established Microinnova as key player for process design and manufacturing applications of
microreactors, process intensifi cation as well as fl ow chemistry.
Dirk Kirschneck has given 23 presentations and 9 invited lectures on scientifi c conferences and
seminars in the fi eld of micro process engineering.
He has written 3 book chapters as author and co-author and 1 review article.
He is key researcher in 2 European Union FP7 research projects.
The Austrian Chemistry Federation has nominated Kirschneck as Austrian
Industry delegate for the working party “Process Intensifi cation” of the
EFCE.
Flow chemistry in combination with process intensifi cation tools as microreactors offers a lot of new possibilities in development
and manufacturing of chemicals. Advantages as reactions in novel process windows, higher safety or better product quality
are important drivers to switch from batch to continuous processing and to integrate intensifi cation technology. With this new
approach also plant technology has to be reconsidered. Highly automated continuous microfl uidic systems displace fl asks in
laboratory, fl ow mini-plants replace the conventional pilot plant systems and high effi cient and fl exible manufacturing systems are
doing the manufacturing process instead of batch vessels. This change brings a lot of challenging tasks for plant technology and
devices, as required pressure and temperature ranges are much higher and dimensions of the equipment often need to be much
smaller. Flexibility is a key of successful design and the need of GMP-compliant design makes the topic even more diffi cult.
Microinnova has worked out plant solutions which fi t in this new approach of development and manufacturing and meet perfectly
the demand of effi ciency and fl exibility.
For development and small scale production, Microinnova has developed a system called “fl ow mini-plant”. In contrast to the
classic batch-technology-development, where a strict separation between the lab and pilot plant and respectively the lab and
pilot phase is given, a certain merger of these two development phases during the development of continuous fl ow processes has
been detected. This results in enormous time and cost savings by signifi cant shortening of the pilot phase. Some of the lab and pilot
phases of a process development can even be operated on one and the same plant only with small modifi cations.
Consequent the solutions for manufacturing: The “modular multipurpose plant’” platform designed by Microinnova delivers a
performance of a continuous plant mixed with the fl exibility of a batch vessel. The “unit operation solution’” substitutes a specifi c
process step, in a chain of most batchwise run operations, with an intensifi ed continuous plant, whereby the change in the total
procedure is minimal, but the increase of performance of the overall process is high. Finally also a “dedicated plant” can be
equipped with intensifi cation technologies which is interesting for all long-term production where no fl exibility for product change
is needed.
17
Lake Como
2|4 October 2011