Process intensification and energy transition: A necessary coupling?

Abstract

The energy transition requires an extensive employment of gas-solid catalytic chemical reactors to support the long-term energy storage. Many renewable resources are decentralised, so that the feedstock for the energy conversion facilities is limited. New reactor technologies will be needed to ensure the efficient conversion of renewable resources in smaller scale than the state-of-the-art processes. Process intensification is a key in this direction, fulfilling the desired conversion efficiency, miniaturization of the process units and integration with the existent facilities. This paper analyses the key aspects of process intensification to be considered and implemented in the development of chemical reactors for the energy transition. The intensification strategies should follow three main directions: miniaturization of the process units, enhanced process efficiency and high reactor flexibility. An effective tackling of these directions is challenging for the standard packed-bed reaction technology, but many alternative and promising options are available. An efficient utilization of reaction engineering principles in the design of the new processes can successfully open the way to the optimal equipment selection for each specific application. Hence, a rationally based, but creative selection of the available technologies will be an essential step in the successful implementation of chemical technology in the energy transition.