Chemie Ingenieur Technik, Vol.84, No.5, 715-726, 2012
Safety Aspects during Process Development and Small Scale Production with Microreactors
Closed handling, enhanced heat transfer, and the small internal volume of microreactors allow for safe processing of challenging and hazardous reactions. Besides a robust and scalable reactor, pumps, vessels, and separation units have to be considered in the safety concept. Four examples with organometallic reactions and nitrations illustrate various safety aspects during process development. Two checklists assist the systematic approach in the risk assessment on the basis of the HAZOP method.
Keywords:HAZOP;Heat transfer;Microreactor;Plant design;Process development;Reaction runaway;Safety assessment