How microfluidic chips enable precise and accurate control of gas and liquid flows in parallel reactors

One of the challenges in high-throughput catalysis is the distribution of gas and liquid flows to multiple reactors, while ensuring uniform and stable flow rates across all channels. Conventional methods, such as capillary tubes, valves, and flow controllers, are often bulky, complex, and prone to clogging, leakage, and drift. Moreover, they are difficult to scale up and down, and to adapt to different flow regimes and viscosities.

To overcome these limitations, Avantium has developed a novel technology based on microfluidic chips, which are small devices that can manipulate fluids at the micrometer scale.

Microfluidic Splitter Chip

The microfluidic splitter chip is a single microfluidic chip that can distribute gas and liquid flows to 16 channels, with a channel-to-channel flow variability of less than 0.5% RSD (relative standard deviation). The chip is made of glass and can operate at high pressures (up to 400 barg). The chip can handle a wide range of flow rates.

The glass chip works by splitting the incoming flow into equal parts. The splitting process is based on the principle of laminar flow, which means that the fluid flows in parallel layers, without mixing or turbulence. This ensures that the flow rate and pressure are uniform across all channels, and that the distribution is independent of the fluid properties, such as viscosity and density.

Benefits

Microfluidic chips offer several advantages for high-throughput catalysis, such as:

• Increased flexibility and scalability: compact and modular design, allowing easy exchange of glass chips adapted to different flow regimes and viscosities.
• High reproducibility and reliability, as the flow distribution is precise and accurate, ensuring consistent results across all channels.
• Improved efficiency and productivity, as more tests can be performed, with less time and resources required.

Microfluidics modular gas distribution

The gas feed can be efficiently distributed by using microfluidic distributor glass-chips. Every chip is tested with a guaranteed flow distribution.

Various types of chips are available to be able to cover a wide dynamic range in flow rate and feed properties. Change out of the chips can be done in minutes, offering the unique flexibility to cover a wide range of applications using the same reactor system.

Active pressure control can be used to compensate when catalyst bed pressure drop is expected. The inlet reactor pressure will be continuously monitored and controlled to guarantee equal inlet pressure and thus avoid any negative impact of a restricted catalyst bed on the flow distribution to the parallel reactors.