Chemical Plants of the Future: The Role of Microtechnology in Industry

摘要

Following the exponential growth of microelectronics in the computer industry of the late 1970s and the boom of micromechanics for mobile phones 15 years later, microtechnology may, in the near future and on the basis of a radical change in perspective, give birth to a new generation of chemical production plants. This new technological revolution is at the heart of IMPULSE, an "integrated project" financed in part by Europe's FP6, with a European Commission grant of E 10.5 million. Initiated by Michael Matlosz, Professor of chemical engineering at the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (INPL) and researcher at the Laboratory of the Chemical Engineering Sciences (LSGC) of the French CNRS in Nancy (France), IMPULSE seeks to exploit micro technology as the key to the creation of the innovative chemical plants of tomorrow. An original approach targeting a double objective: on the one hand, providing the safer and cleaner manufacturing processes demanded by Europe's citizens, on the other, maintaining European leadership in a high-value-added industrial sector representing 2 million direct jobs in Europe and ensuring 25 percent of total worldwide production. To achieve this goal, the project combines two essential concepts: (1) Intensification - producing more with less energy, less solvent, reduced transport, lower inventories, and (2) Miniaturisation - producing better with smaller volumes, higher efficiency, greater precision.