Modeling Exothermic Reactions for Pharmaceutical Intermediates in a Tubular Reactor with a Static Mixer Using Comsol Multiphysics

Medicines for All utilizes unique chemistry applications to develop cost effective processes to positively impact global health, and recently has partnered with Phlow Corporation to increase the pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities in the United States to combat possible supply chain disruptions abroad. As a continuation of these objectives, a COMSOL Multiphysics^® simulation was developed for modeling highly exothermic reactions carried out in tubular reactors. The COMSOL Multiphysics^® model incorporated the fluid dynamics, energy transfer, species transport, and reaction chemistry through both a simplified 2D axisymmetric geometry as well as a representative 3D reactor with a static mixing element and predicted the resulting temperature and concentration profiles. In this way, the effect of the reactor design and processing conditions on “hot-spot” formation and its consequent effect on the reaction performance can be modeled in locations where temperature probes cannot practically be placed. The end goal of this model is to increase understanding for continuous processes with exothermic reactions in tubular reactors, which in turn can aid in experimental design as well as making informed scale-up decisions.