Flow chemistry reactors – from grams to kilotons
Flow Chemical Reactors – Integrated Cascades of Stirred Tanks
Scalable Agitated Baffle Reactor (SABRe) technology
Proven flow chemistry from grams to kilo-tonnes. Reactor volume from 30 mL to 100 L
Multipurpose: perfect for liquids, gases, and solids; high temperature / pressure and exothermic processes
Constant & predictable mixing, residence time, heat & mass transfer on scale-up
What is great about the SABRe technology?
Best in class mixing
Impellers provide lots of mixing energy to accelerate multiphase mixing and the process
Proven in the liquid-liquid enzymatic esterification comparing batch, chip, and other agitated continuous reactors! (See the case study for details)
If the process is slow (slower than 1 min), static mixers require low flow rate but mixing is compromised. With SABRe, longer reaction times are possible while maintaining excellent mixing
Multipurpose flow operation
Batch reactors could handle most chemistry. SABRe in its stirred tanks could do the same, but do it in flow
Stirred tanks do need or use micro-channels. SABRe is harder to clog – it could handle solids as reactants, by-products, catalysts, or products
Distance between the tanks is just 1 mm – no long tubes, no bends, no clogging in between
Linear scalability for both mixing and heat transfer
For mixing, agitation with impellers makes scale-up trivial. Logic, principles, and calculations are the same as for the batch reactors – maintaining the specific mixing power
For heat transfer, we introduce internal heat exchanges in addition to the jacket. Hence, we could 100 / 1000X the reactor throughput at the same exchanger temperature
No complex calculations, no major risks – rapid scalability
How does it work?
Modular design optimised for flexibility
The main components:
(i) jacketed reactor vessel made in glass or metal
(ii) magnetic seal provides impeller rotation without leaks
(iii) removable insert that slides into the vessel
(iv) various addition points with removable feeding tubes
Cascade of 10, 20, or 50 stirred tanks in series
Various reactor inserts available with Rushton, Laminar, Pitched blade impellers off the shelf. Customisation is possible – the batch knowledge applies
These are optimised for mixing liquids, handling solids gently, mixing gases. The best impeller provides extra performance – better mixing, smaller or more uniform emulsion droplet distribution, smaller gas bubbles
If not sure, a standard Laminar impeller covers the most applications well
Flow travels only around the shaft in the middle
Standard (radial) impellers move fluid towards the wall. Having an openning at the wall creates a rapid path for back-mixing. Our design optimised over the years provides precision control in residence time distribution
Central openings could be wider for enhanced solids handling (larger particles could pass) or narrower (to prevent lighter liquid or gas moving up by gravity)
At residence time below 20 min, the number of chambers corresponds to the number of ideal stirred tanks in series! (See the case study for details)
Reaction cascades are easy in SABRe
The reactor inserts contain tubes that could feed reagents into a particular chamber
It is possible to mix 2 reactants in chamber 1, give them some time (9 chambers) to react while they are moving; then quench the reaction in chamber 10
The reaction insert may contain 2 or 4 feeding tubes with a 10-point thermocouple
The feeding tubes could be distributing one component through several holes to sparge a reactant – a typical application is an exothermic process where single mixing point may create a hot spot
Expertise & Excellence
Since 2016 when we established the company, we invested £3 million in research to development to design and optimise the reactor performance.
Our excellence has been recognised by receiving numerous awards and highly competitive awards from the Innovate UK grant, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Knowledge Transfer Network, European Commission, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero…
International Customer Base
Our customers span from the US to the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, India, Korea, Japan, and Australia.
These include several major pharma companies, CDMOs, and fine chemicals companies, petrochemical, aerospace, research organisations, and universities.
Technology proven at scale
SABRe flow reactors are used across the world at scale – from 20 kg pilot operation in pharmaceutical intermediates, 300 kg agrochemicals, to 1,000,000+ kg fine chemical manufacturing.
SABRe is proven to handle exothermic liquid-liquid, cryogenic gas-liquid, solid formation, liquid-solid, high temperature and pressure processes. The processes include metalogranics, anti-solvent precipitation, hydrogenation, Friedel-Crafts, sulfur insertion, nitration, alkylation, polymerisation…
Flow saves resources, energy, and costs
Several studies (further discussed separately) demonstrate convincing benefits of flow chemistry at scale.
In collaboration with Robinson Brothers Limited (UK) during the Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator (IEEA) programme, we have demonstrated 2 processes at 100 kg and 1000 ton/year and calculated the benefits. Demonstrated savings:
- 71% less energy in flow compared to batch
- 83% less labour in flow compared to batch
- 79% lower cost in flow (excluding reactants)
- 9.5% overall process savings