Micro-Channel Enabled Process Intensification for Distributed Production of Chemicals and Fuels

Growth of energy demand and diversification of feedstock have motivated the development and application of distributed chemical processes for fuel and chemical production. New ways are required to conduct mixing, reaction, separation, energy and material transfer, and process control to break away from the capacity-based scale economy. In this talk, pros and cons of decade-long micro-reaction technology endeavor will be discussed and new technology vision will be presented. These discussions will be elaborated with application examples of hydrogen processing, olefin production, and conversion of natural gas/biomass into liquid fuels.