Abstract

Sampling and Analyzing in Flow (PS, Solids are No Longer a Problem)

Michael Organ, Director, Centre for Catalysis Research and Innovation (CCRI), University of Ottawa

In-process reaction monitoring with GCMS, LCMS, and NMR spectroscopy has been developed to accurately track reaction performance. This has facilitated the incorporation of feed-back loops between the reactor effluent stream and the front end of the reactor using in-house developed software for hands-free continuous reaction optimization and production monitoring. Of course, samples must first be extracted from continuous processes in order to perform the above mentioned in-line analysis. This is often times thwarted by the presence of solids in the flowing stream, which can both block lines and valves and make analyses inaccurate. We have developed technology for the reliable handling of samples that contain solids from flow streams. This will be discussed in the lecture.