Intensified Commercial Scale Production of Dispersants
Executive Summary
Technical Challenge
- Lack of reliable kinetics data for the design and operation of this process
- Demonstrating approaches for heat and mass transfer that allow maximum benefit to be derived from continuous processing approaches
Potential Impact
The project will enable the first full-scale realization of an intensified, continuous process in the lubricants and dispersants market, and one of the first demonstrations of transition from batch to continuous processing in the US outside the pharmaceutical industry. As such, it could have a transformative impact on this industry. Successful demonstration is expected to quickly translate to other large-volume additives and to manufacture of similar specialty chemicals, such as various performance coatings and personal/home care products. By demonstrating value to a market and by validating both the technology and development process, the project will provide a model for others in the industry to emulate.
Resources
The University of Pittsburgh has extensive expertise in kinetics and reactor design, and process modeling and phase behavior. Lubrizol Corporation is a global leader in this process chemistry and has additional capability to deploy the intensified process into full scale manufacturing, creating a unique opportunity window to demonstrate process intensification in a fully operational industrial pilot plant.