Flow Chemistry Gains New Focus Major chemical maker and academic researchers team up to address skills gap

摘要

A PARTNERSHIP between BASF,Ludwigshafen,Germany,and Imperial College London (ICL) will involve a number of flow chemistry projects at the university's Center for Doctoral Training (CDT) in next-generation synthesis and reaction technology."This research is a real opportunity to complement world-scale production with a more flexible alternative,"says Christian Holtze,senior research engineer at BASF with a background in microfluidics."While we already use continuous processes routinely to manufacture chemicals at large-typically kilotonne-scale,a key challenge is to implement flow chemistry at smaller kilogramme scales,specifically for R&D and the manufacture of low-volume,high-value chemicals,including speciality chemicals,which to date are predominantly made in batch processing,for example in stirred tank reactors,"he adds.