(158i) Impulse: Innovative Process Design and How to Teach It

IMPULSE aims at effective, targeted integration of innovative process equipment such as microreactors, compact heat exchangers, thin-film devices and other micro and/or meso-structured components, to attain radical performance enhancement for whole process systems in chemical and pharmaceutical production, thereby contributing to significant improvement in supply-chain sustainability for the chemical industry.

Whereas complete miniaturization or intensification of entire process systems is unrealistic and economically prohibitive, the multiscale design approach of IMPULSE provides intensification locally only in those parts of a process and on the time ans length scale where it is truly needed and can produce the greatest benefit.

The IMPULSE approach represents a true paradigm shift in chemical process engineering: Rather than adapting the chemical synthesis routes and process operating parameters to be compatible with equipment limitations, IMPULSE adapts the equipment, structure and process architectures themselves in order to create locally the most desirable conditions for a given physico-chemical transformation.

IMPULSE goals include the proof of principle in major supply-chain sectors (pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, consumer goods), validated business models (e. g., distributed production, mass customization, etc.), "teachable" generic design methodology and optimization and decision criteria for eco-efficiency. The project has started in February 2005.

This poster contribution describes how the IMPULSE approach may be taught to the relevant addressees: students, researchers, industry workers, managers, and the public. In order to properly convey the pertinent messages, it is crucial to carefully select the channels and means. It is as well crucial to define the focus groups early on. Much can be learnt from a careful analysis of technology transfer in related areas.