Interview on the F3 Factory Project: Modular Production Concepts Boost Competitiveness

Related Vendors

Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH

EDL Anlagenbau Gesellschaft mbH

Italvacuum, Srl

BASF SE

PROCESS: What changes can we expect to see?

Bott: Rather than producing specialty products in conventional stirred tank reactors in a batch or semi-batch process, many of the products will be produced in a flexible, continuous process with new type of equipment such as milli- or micro-structured reactors. In many cases, the new reactors significantly increase space-time yields. Combined with a high degree of process intensification, we can substantially reduce the size of the production plants. They can often be set up in individual modular production elements which can for example be pre-assembled installed in standardized container frames in central workshops , then transported to the construction site — that can help reduce plant construction time. Equipment lead times are currently a major factor in the construction time of a chemical plant. Equipment standardization and the ability to easily combine and configure the equipment to create a production module will make an important contribution to achieve additional time savings and we will be working intensively on this in the F3 Factory project.

PROCESS: What exactly does that mean?

Bott: In the process development stage, the process will be adapted to fit to equipment and modules which are available in the market. In other words, the process will be largely based on standard solutions which are available in the market and not the other way around. Scale-up risks can be reduced by using the same equipment designs both in product development in the lab and in production later on. Instead of working with a flask, researchers will develop products for example in a milli-structured lab reactor operating in continuous mode which has exactly the same characteristics as the production equipment.

concept for specific products individually.

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