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

Abstract

OpenFlowChem – an open-access platform for automation of process control and monitoring optimised for flexibility.

An autonomous microreactor platform for the rapid identification of kinetic models

“…To avoid any potential high correlation between the preexponential factor, k 0 (units are either min −1 or L mol −1 min −1 depending on if the reaction is 1 st or 2 nd order), and activation energy, E a (J mol −1 ), the Arrhenius expression was written in the parameterised form shown in eqn (14), as this is shown to give the most accurate results and lead to fewer numerical problems during both parameter estimation and experiment design. 69…”

“…A similar approach was reported in the literature for a GC system which also did not provide instrument drivers. 14 One of the major issues of autonomous systems is that they are task-specific and that small changes in the experimental set-up require significant work to update the system. This can lead to situations where it is faster to conduct experiments manually than to develop automation algorithms for each new version of an experimental set-up.…”

“…5,[8][9][10] Flow reactors are now often combined with online analysis to provide data-rich experimental platforms. Online flow analysis methods reported in the literature include GC, [11][12][13][14] HPLC, [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] MS, 16,[23][24][25][26] UV, 13 IR, [27][28][29][30][31][32] Raman, 33,34 X-ray absorption spectroscopy 28 and NMR 35 as well as viscosity measurements. 36 Additionally, many flow reactors are now being programmed to perform experiments automatically, while collecting experimental data without user supervision.…”

“…There are a large number of black-box closed loop systems reported in the literature, and they are often called "self-optimising reactors". [12][13][14]17,25,30,32,35,[45][46][47][48][49][50] Some of the most impressive applications of self-optimising reactors include the automation of a multistep sequence including reaction and separation steps 23 and the use of multiple objective functions where an optimal compromise between two competing variables (such as profitability and environmental impact) has to be identified. 51 However, while the self-optimising reactors offer many advantages, they are normally of little value in developing a kinetic model, as the experiments are usually performed only in the region around the optimum operating point.…”

Process Intensification of Continuous-Flow Imine Hydrogenation in Catalyst-Coated Tube Reactors

“…The reactor was operated autonomously executing a pre-defined reaction program and injecting liquid samples into vials equipped with septa to minimize sample evaporation. 40 The samples were taken after the time required for the liquid to displace at least 3 times the reactor volume before collecting 3-4 samples for every set of reaction conditions. The liquid samples collected were analyzed by the GC with the response factors related to tetradecane and calibrated using a series of reference solutions for every compound.…”