Abstract

Microscale Technology and Biocatalytic Processes: How to Minimize the Gap Between Research and Industry

Igor Plazl, Professor, University of Ljubljana

New concepts such as continuous processing, flow chemistry, high-throughput screening, and process intensification, have been established in order to open novel pathways in process design and engineering. Besides, a number of highly innovative and systematic approaches, protocols, tools, and strategies has currently been developed in both industry and academia, all to minimize the gap between research and industry, and to define a smooth transfer of (bio)chemical processes to the industrial environment. To meet these challenges, we must advance the field from (bio)catalyst discovery to (bio)catalytic microprocess design. This will require not only a new level of understanding of reaction mechanisms and transport phenomena at the micro scale, but also the development of relevant computational tools. In this work the microscale bioprocess development based on scale-up/scale-out/numbering-up concept in combination with modeling-based optimization is presented. The design of packed bed microreactor “between two-plates” will be presented together with innovative approaches, protocols, and tools to minimize the gap between research and industry. Theoretical description of transport phenomena and the kinetics at the micro scale is discussed together with the presentation of multiscale modeling concept.