The module covers the following topics - F³ Factory - … module covers the following topics: • State-of-the-art in chemical production • Modular flexible continuous process systems

The current learning module is part of a suite of training material developed to disseminate outputs from the Flexible, Fast and Future Factory (F3 Factory) project. It is targeted to chemists and engineers working in process development and who may not be familiar with modular production and process intensification approaches. It should also be of interest for university Masters-Level students. The module is an introduction to the F3 Factory concept of modular and flexible continuous chemical production. It concerns the definition of the F3 Factory concept as a potential opportunity for future competitiveness of the European chemical industry. Other dedicated documents will present specific case studies from the F3 Factory demonstrator activities organized in the framework of the project.

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The module covers the following topics:

• State-of-the-art in chemical production

• Modular flexible continuous process systems

• Process intensification for modular production

• Definition and illustration of the F3 Factory concept

• Role of standardization

• Conclusion

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Why develop modular continuous production? The current state-of-the-art in chemical production involves two main production paradigms: • World scale production with continuous dedicated plants in high tonnage sectors.

Continuous dedicated production is efficient in such cases due to economies of scale, but relatively inflexible in general if changes in product specifications or production volumes are required.

• Batch processes operating for low to medium scale production volumes are more

flexible, and batch production is better adapted if frequent changes in products are required. Batch production of this type in stirred tank reactors is relatively inefficient, however, with considerable down-time for product change-over and variations in product quality and selectivity between batch runs due to potentially substantial variations in process conditions within a stirred tank.

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The vision of the F3 consortium is that the European chemical industry’s competitive position would be strongly enhanced if it could operate continuous modular processes for a range of production scales, by combining the best of the two conventional production modes. The F3 factory approach is based on an optimum arrangement of standardized and / or tailored modules providing both flexible multi-product operation as well as scalable single-product production. In many cases, the modules employ intensified components.

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What is a modular continuous-flow production system? A modular continuous-flow production system is composed of several clearly identified continuous-flow process units, each process unit more or less independent of the others. Modular production allows development of interchangeable building blocks, easily combined for efficient and rapid modification of production conditions and changes in production scale in response to market demand. Duplication of production lines by replication of the modular devices provides ease of scale-up and reproducibility.

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With an available toolbox of standardized process units, each unit providing one or more specific process functions, it should be possible to create several different independent production lines with each production line producing a different product (flexible multi-product plant) or

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several identical production lines for scale-up by numbering-up (replication) for a dedicated single-product plant.

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A major challenge for modular process development is the necessity, in many cases, to reduce the size of the process units as well as their complexity, while maintaining sufficient production capacity and high product quality. Process intensification and modular continuous production are often inter-related. Process intensification may be necessary for modular process development, but a modular approach may also be helpful for the design of an intensified process plant. Process intensification has been identified as a key opportunity for the future industrial competitiveness of the chemical and related process industries in Europe. Process intensification is a general strategy that aims to develop methods, techniques and devices for design processes that are : • More efficient • More compact • More economical • Safer • Greener • Cleaner and provide • Higher production capacity per unit volume • And better quality control.

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There are two major objectives for process intensification: • Process miniaturization: to achieve process miniaturization, two different

approaches can be employed. The first approach involves reduction in equipment size through higher intensities for mixing and heat and mass transfer, such as centrifugal fields for example. The second approach involves reduction in equipment size through the use of smaller scales of internal structure, such as microreactors for example.

• Process integration: to achieve process integration, multiple process tasks can be

combined in a single piece of equipment. For example the combination of reaction and separation steps in the same equipment.

Work in F3 Factory is focused both on chemical reactors and on downstream equipment, as well as their association. The industrial case studies include combining membrane separation technology with intensified jet-loop reactors, or development of reactor and downstream equipment to transform production operation from a batch to a continuous approach. Additional details are provided in the support documents concerning the seven demonstrator case studies.

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The F3 factory concept takes advantage of process intensification by combining a modular container based approach with a plug and play philosophy to develop a new paradigm for both flexible multi-product production and flexible scale-up by numbering-up for dedicated single-product production. The elementary building blocks of F3 Factory approach are the Process Equipment Assemblies, PEAs. The PEAs are the smallest modular elements of the process. PEAs may include intensified continuous chemical reactors, downstream equipment, storage units, pumps or combinations of these components. One PEA or several PEAs are associated with one or more tasks in the production process, such as feed, reaction, separation or purification. The PEA building blocks can be easily installed, connected, removed or replaced as required. For instance, the same reactor might be suitable for several reactions systems but each system might require substantially different separation technologies. The various PEAs are installed in a Process Equipment Container (PEC), a superstructure that contains the PEAs and provides the utilities and services required. The PECs are mobile and easily transportable, and in certain cases, the PECs can be docked to a generic backbone facility. The backbone facility provides general services to the PEC such as energy, fluids and process control. Whereas the PEAs and their internal intensified process equipment are generally specific to a given production application, the PECs are standard and

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are designed for the needs of the generic backbone interface. The PECs are characterized by speed and ease of docking and replacement with robust standardized connections to the backbone.

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To illustrate the potential of the F3 factory concept, the case of a medium-scale multi-product plant can be used. In the example, three container-based processes developed directly on the laboratory scale for three different products are shown. The containers can often be transferred directly from the laboratory to the industrial scale and duplicated as required. Depending on the applications, the PEAs combined within the PECs can be standard flexible, reusable items or highly optimized devices for specific needs. The PECs are docked to a backbone facility which provides all utilities and it is possible to install several backbone facilities within the same plant or on different sites.

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To respond to increasing market demand for product 1, the number of PECs producing product 1 and connected to the backbone can be increased.

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In the same spirit, if market demand decreases, the PECs can be removed.

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For product 2, a similar strategy can be adopted.

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For the case of product 3, increase in market demand can be also be addressed by increasing the number of PECs corresponding to product 3.

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Should the market demand increase further, the number of PECs can be increased by connecting PECs for product 3 to all the connections of the backbone facility.

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In order to achieve the greatest benefit from the modular container-based approach, with the possibility of geographically distributed backbone facilities, PEAs and PECs should be built to clear standards. Standardization should not only be available for PECs, but also for the interface connections between the PECs and the backbone, between PEAs within a PEC, and between one PEC and another. The F3 Factory project has examined the possibility of creating standards for PECs based on current practice for freight containers for practical and efficient transport. The specific standard dimensions for the freight containers are provided in the table on the slide. There are two types of containers employed in the F3 factory project to demonstrate the concept: • standard ISO container 1C: 20 feet in length (6 meters) • standard ISO container 1D: 10 feet in length (3 meters) The containers are expected to be employed with standard CP3 square container pallets. The CP3 pallet dimensions are 1140 * 1140 mm.

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The PECs contain PEAs designed for installation on a pre-defined grid, with zones reserved for fluid flows and process control connections. The grid is based on the dimensions of the CP3 container pallet. To provide maximum flexibility, footprint of the CP3 pallet is divided into four equal squares. As a result, the smallest grid element is a cube with an edge length of 570 mm.

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With PECs of standard sizes, PEAs can be positioned at clearly defined locations within the PEC to facilitate interconnections (feed, energy and waste). The solution adopted in F3 Factory is to provide fluid distribution of fluids from the top of the container to avoid any risk of spillage and ensure accessibility to all points on the PEA. The upper surface of each PEA must therefore be reserved for connections to the PEC structure. The other faces are reserved for connection between PEAs. This solution is satisfactory for the majority of cases, but exceptions can occur (PEAs requiring the full height of the PEC, stacking of two PEAs, ...). In such cases, specific approaches are required to provide a compromise between standardization and technical and economic constraints.

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PEAs can be designed in many cases to fit precisely on the PEC grid. The exact geometrical arrangement of the various PEAs inside the PEC can be complicated, however, and arrangements are frequently specific to a given process. Nevertheless, the following basic rules for arrangement can be applied to improve operating efficiency in most cases: • Sufficient headspace for connection of the PEAs to the PEC infrastructure. • Reasonable tolerances in flange position and orientation.

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• Whenever possible, mounting of PEAs from both sides along the longitudinal dimension of the PEC should be favoured to increase accessibility of flanges and interfaces.

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• For maintenance purposes, or in the case of a malfunction, dismantling of each PEA inside a PEC should be possible without having to dismantle adjacent PEAs or piping other than at the PEA interfaces.

• Consequently “sandwich structures” of, for example, three or four PEAs in a row

across the width of the PEC should be avoided, since the inner PEAs in such arrangements cannot be accessed without dismounting the outer PEAs.

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• If valves, pumps or other PEA equipment components require manual intervention, switches, dials and circuit breakers, should be easy to reach.

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• Media transfer between two PEAs crossing a third PEA should be avoided, unless no other transfer route within the PEC is possible.

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• If media transfert between two non-adjacent PEAs is unavoidable, the transfert route should not pass above the intermediate PEA, since the top face of the PEA is often reserved for connection to the PEC or for stacking.

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One of the challenges to successful development of flexible modular production is standardization of interfaces. Four different types of interface can be identified: • Interfaces between the backbone facility and the PECs. • Interfaces between PECs and installed PEAs. • Interfaces between PEAs inside a given PEC for transfer of process streams. • Interfaces between PEAs across PEC-boundaries, if the process requires more

than one PEC.

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Concerning the interconnections between the PEC and the backbone, a docking station concept has been developed and built according to a three-level approach: • All utilities provided by the backbone are coupled via quick fitting, manually

operated multi couplings. • For handling reasons, waste streams which require large piping cross sections are

coupled individually by using quick fitting single couplings. • Electricity is coupled „conventionally“ via connectors and sockets. This also holds

for process control signals.

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The present figure illustrates the backbone docking interface for a connected PEC.

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The positions of the couplings should be the same for all PECs to allow for standard connection. For the F3 factory demonstration, the single couplings are situated in the lower middle position of the container face, the multi coupling on the left and the electrical and the process control connectors on the right.

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In comparison to the case of connections between PECs and the backbone, the development of standard rules for interfaces between PEAs is considerably more complex. This complexity results from the following issues: • Interface positions depend on previous/subsequent PEAs. Process streams can enter/leave to/from different sides. Possible multiple incoming/outgoing streams. PEAs of various (grid) sizes to be connected. Inaccuracy in interface positions, e.g. due to manufacturing tolerances. • PEAs need to be arranged according to main process stream(s). Short distances. No crossings between PEAs. All piping to be installed within PEA boundaries. • PEAs need to be accessible from at least one side. • Wide variety of piping and tubing systems. Pipe/tube diameter & material Flange system Pressure regulators Since, as already stated, the PEAs will be supplied with infrastructure services via their top faces, the lateral faces of the PEAs are best suited for interconnections between PEAs. For flexibility, the connections between PEAs should be independent of their

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geometry and orientation within the PEC. The interface connections should be as small and compact as possible to limit use of available space within the PEC.

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In summary, to enhance the competitiveness for European chemical industry, the F3 consortium believes that flexible, modular continuous plants for low to medium scale production constitute a major opportunity. The F3 premise is that operation of modular continuous plants will be more economical and more sustainable than current production modes. The F3 factory project is based on a plug&play philosophy with an efficient container based approach including intensified, continuous and standardized technologies, with new methodologies for process and equipment design. The F3 factory concept.

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This training module is part of a suite of training material developed for the F3 factory project. The training modules in this series include: • Overview of the F3 Factory project • Modular and flexible continuous chemical production concept • Business drivers for implementation of modular production technologies • Eco-efficiency evaluation of flexible, modular continuous production • And conceptual process design methodologies.

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