Microstructures for SMART reactors : Precision performance in industrial production

The increasing availability of low—cost microstructured components and devices over the last three decades has led to revolutionary advances in electrical, optical and mechanical systems, and the recent extension of microtechnology to chemical and biological applications is at the heart of economic development in an ever larger number of industrial sectors. For the process engineer, the advent of microstructured unit operation and reaction modules has provided new possibilities for industrial innovation that may ultimately lead to significant changes not only in the processes themselves but also in the way in which process technologies are conceived, designed and developed. On the basis of recent advances in the use of microstructured components for process miniaturization and process intensification, the present communication seeks to define future directions for process engineering in terms of “smart reactors”, a new generation of highly integrated, adaptive and “intelligent” devices for precision performance in chemical production.