Issue 5, 2018

OpenFlowChem – a platform for quick, robust and flexible automation and self-optimisation of flow chemistry

Abstract

Flow chemistry is a time-saver in the laboratory and a cost-saver in industry partly because of automation and autonomous operation. Nevertheless, a batch process is often preferred over a flow counterpart because setting up the autonomous operation may take a lot of time. In this paper, we propose a novel open-access OpenFlowChem platform based on LabVIEW for process automation, control and monitoring. The platform is optimized for quick system setup, reconfiguration and high flexibility. The platform is demonstrated in three examples: autonomous operation with an automatic stepwise program, proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control and self-optimization. In the first example, the system automatically executed a reaction program defined in a spreadsheet file to study the reversibility of a Pd/SiO2 catalyst poisoning with quinoline in the reaction of alkyne semihydrogenation. The addition of quinoline increased alkene selectivity and reduced the catalyst activity, but the time required to remove the catalyst poison varied by a factor of 10 and depended on the poison concentration. In the second example, a PID controller adjusted the nitrobenzene concentration in a hydrogenation reaction to compensate for catalyst deactivation and a disturbance in process parameters. The PID controller kept constant the hydrogen consumption determined by an inline optical liquid sensor. In the third example, the product yield in alkyne semihydrogenation was self-optimized, adjusting the flow rates of the substrate, the catalyst poison (quinoline) and the solvent in a tube reactor coated with a 5 wt% Pd/SiO2 catalyst. As a result, the alkene yield reached 96.5%.

Graphical abstract: OpenFlowChem – a platform for quick, robust and flexible automation and self-optimisation of flow chemistry

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 mar 2018
Accepted
07 ago 2018
First published
09 ago 2018

React. Chem. Eng., 2018,3, 769-780

OpenFlowChem – a platform for quick, robust and flexible automation and self-optimisation of flow chemistry

N. Cherkasov, Y. Bai, A. J. Expósito and E. V. Rebrov, React. Chem. Eng., 2018, 3, 769 DOI: 10.1039/C8RE00046H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements