20.03.2019
15 minutes of reading
Pilot-scale experimentation supplies the performance data necessary for industrial extrapolation. It requires pilot plants in which thermal and matter transfers are fully controlled given extrapolation factors in the region of 105 to 106 between a pilot reactor and an industrial unit reactor. In addition, the increased demand for more eco-efficient processes requires the use of intensified, instrumented and digitalized pilot plants.
In this context, the Process Experiments Division has designed and operates a fleet of nearly 80 installations covering all of IFPEN’s processes.
To develop project support expertise, the division draws on fundamental research focused on both the characterization of materials and fluids and the modeling of closely coupled phenomena with a view to scale change. This issue presents a few of the key achievements resulting from such research.
An emerging research challenge is the use of data sciences. This will enable us to rethink the management and operation of pilot plant tests with a view to enhanced efficiency for IFPEN’s R&I.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue.
Denis Guillaume, Director of the Process Experiments Division
CFD and 3D are causing a stir in the world of reactors
In order to develop and test new processes for the production of responsible fuels or bio-based chemical intermediates, complex and miniature re
Raman: the secret of a successful separation
The development and optimization of chemical processes increasingly involves the instrumentation of pilot and industrial units with inline efflu
Processes are converting to microfluidics
The diversification of resources (atypical oil feeds or bio-based feeds) is leading to the development of new conversion processesa
A digital twin for in silico experiments
The catalysts developed by IFPEN are often used in fixed-bed reactors where their grains are packed randomly.
Operando spectroscopy in full transparency
The purification of oil feeds for obtaining clean fuels, as well as the treatment of bio-based feeds that can be incorporated in diesel fuels, r
InSPIRed process control
R&D work in the field of process monitoring aims to gain a better understanding of the phenomena involved, increase productivity and enhance