KR20220095782A - Continuous flow reactor - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a continuous flow reactor according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The continuous flow reactor comprises: one or more fluid reaction sets, wherein each of the fluid response sets comprises: two or more inlets for injecting two or more fluids; a backflow prevention unit connected to each of the inlets to prevent the reverse flow of the injected fluids; and a fluid reaction unit connected to the backflow prevention unit and including flow paths for inducing a chemical reaction of the fluids.

Description

Continuous Flow Reactor {CONTINUOUS FLOW REACTOR}

The present disclosure relates to a continuous flow reactor, and more particularly, to a continuous flow reactor for stably injecting two or more types of fluids.

A single chamber, tube or continuous flow reactor is a device capable of inducing a chemical reaction of two or more different reactants to be injected to obtain a compound containing product, which is a chemical process for toxic reactants that requires only a small amount of reactants It can be seen as a device with greatly enhanced stability. The ultimate goal in continuous flow technology in continuous flow reactors is to obtain products of high quality, fewer impurities and faster and more uniform chemical reactions.

Flow chemistry has been used in various chemical industries for decades, and in recent years, the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries are increasingly incorporating this technology. The demand for continuous flow reactors is also increasing as the use of continuous flow chemistry increases due to inherently improved safety, improved product quality, cost effectiveness and overall production flexibility.

However, in the conventional continuous flow reactor, two or more types of fluids including toxic fluids or highly reactive fluids are used, but the problem that these fluids may be reversed during the injection process is overlooked. Therefore, as in the present disclosure, there is a need for research on a continuous flow reactor capable of preventing backflow of fluids and stably injecting fluids.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1040703

The present disclosure is intended to improve the problems of the prior art, and more specifically, to provide a continuous flow reactor for stably injecting two or more types of fluids.

The technical problems of the present disclosure are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

A continuous flow reactor is disclosed according to an embodiment of the present disclosure for realizing the above-described problems. The continuous flow reactor includes one or more fluid reaction sets, each of the fluid reaction sets comprising: two or more inlets for injecting two or more fluids; a backflow prevention unit connected to each of the inlets to prevent a reverse flow of the injected fluids; and a fluid reaction unit connected to the backflow prevention unit and including flow paths for inducing a chemical reaction of the fluids.

Alternatively, the backflow prevention unit may include: an injection passage connected to the inlets and the fluid reaction unit to flow the fluids from the inlets to the fluid reaction unit; and a non-return element having a structure for controlling a flow direction of the fluids to prevent a reverse flow of the fluids with respect to the injection passage.

Alternatively, the backflow prevention element may be disposed based on the connection positions of the injection passage and the inlets, respectively.

Alternatively, the total number of the non-return element may be a number corresponding to the total number of the inlets into which the fluids are injected.

Alternatively, the backflow prevention element may be an annular flow path connected at a connection angle of 5 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less with respect to the injection flow path.

Alternatively, a monitoring unit including one or more sensors for monitoring the fluids; and a state controller for controlling states of the fluids based on the sensing data of the monitoring unit for stable flow of the fluids.

Alternatively, the one or more sensors may include: a temperature sensor sensing the temperature of the fluids to generate one or more temperature sensing data; and a chemical sensor generating one or more component sensing data by sensing at least one of components included in the fluids.

Alternatively, the chemical sensor may be disposed between the inlet port and the non-return element of the non-return portion to determine whether a chemical reaction occurs due to the reverse flow of the fluids.

Alternatively, it may further include an outlet connected to the fluid reaction unit and discharging the products and the fluids generated in the fluid reaction unit.

Alternatively, the outlet of at least one of the fluid reaction sets may be connected with the inlet of another fluid reaction set.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a continuous flow reactor capable of stably injecting two or more types of fluids.

Effects obtainable in the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below. .

1 is an illustrative diagram illustratively illustrating a continuous flow reactor including one or more fluid reaction sets in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a front cross-section of a continuous flow reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
3 is an exemplary diagram exemplarily illustrating one fluid reaction set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
4A is an exemplary diagram illustrating a backflow prevention unit of a fluid reaction set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
4B is an exemplary diagram illustrating a state in which a reverse flow prevention unit of a fluid reaction set prevents a reverse flow according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
5 is a graph showing the measurement of the permeability of the fluid between the first inlet 111 and the backflow prevention element 122 for the experiment of the present disclosure.
6 is an exemplary view illustrating the backflow preventing structures of the backflow preventing unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
7 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a part of a fluid reaction set including two backflow prevention units according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
8 is an exemplary view illustrating another shape of a backflow prevention unit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
9 is an exemplary view exemplarily illustrating a backflow preventing element of a backflow preventing unit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Various embodiments and/or aspects are now disclosed with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. However, it will also be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details. The following description and accompanying drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of one or more aspects. These aspects are illustrative, however, and some of various methods may be employed in the principles of the various aspects, and the descriptions set forth are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Specifically, as used herein, “embodiment”, “example”, “aspect”, “exemplary”, etc. are not to be construed as advantageous or advantageous over any aspect or design described herein. It may not be.

Hereinafter, the same or similar components are assigned the same reference numerals regardless of reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted. In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, and the technical ideas disclosed in the present specification are not limited by the accompanying drawings.

Although the first, second, etc. are used to describe various elements or elements, these elements or elements are not limited by these terms, of course. These terms are only used to distinguish one element or component from another. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the first element or component mentioned below may be the second element or component within the spirit of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used with the meaning commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in a commonly used dictionary are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless clearly defined in particular.

In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean one of the natural implicit substitutions. That is, X employs A; X employs B; or when X employs both A and B, "X employs A or B" may apply to either of these cases. It should also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and includes all possible combinations of one or more of the listed related items.

Also, the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" mean that the feature and/or element is present, but excludes the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, and/or groups thereof. should be understood as not Also, unless otherwise specified or unless it is clear from context to refer to a singular form, the singular in the specification and claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more”.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in between. it should be On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there is no other element present in the middle.

The suffixes “module” and “part” for components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of only the ease of writing the specification, and do not have distinct meanings or roles by themselves.

References to an element or layer “on” or “on” another component or layer mean that another layer or other component in between as well as directly above the other component or layer. Including all intervening cases. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as “directly on” or “immediately on”, it indicates that another component or layer is not interposed therebetween.

Spatially relative terms "below", "beneath", "lower", "above", "upper", etc. It can be used to easily describe a component or a correlation with other components. The spatially relative terms should be understood as terms including different orientations of the device during use or operation in addition to the orientation shown in the drawings.

For example, when a component shown in the drawing is turned over, a component described as “beneath” or “beneath” of another component may be placed “above” of the other component. can Accordingly, the exemplary term “below” may include both directions below and above. Components may also be oriented in other orientations, and thus spatially relative terms may be interpreted according to orientation.

Objects and effects of the present disclosure, and technical configurations for achieving them will become clear with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a detailed description of a well-known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the terms described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present disclosure, which may vary according to intentions or customs of users and operators.

However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. Only the present embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure is complete, and to fully inform those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs, the scope of the disclosure, and the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims . Therefore, the definition should be made based on the content throughout this specification.

The continuous flow reactor of the present disclosure may be an apparatus used for chemical reaction synthesis of one or more fluids passing through micrometer-sized microchannels. The continuous flow reactor of the present disclosure may be a micro reactor, a continuous flow reactor, or the like.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the continuous flow reactor may be formed of a material that is easy to form and has high corrosion resistance, nonflammability and chemical durability. Specifically, a material with high chemical durability means a material that can withstand explosions caused by chemical reactions. The continuous flow reactor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be made of a material having mechanical properties that can withstand harsh chemical reaction environments such as explosive, acid and heat generation. Mechanical properties that can withstand harsh chemical reaction environments may be, for example, corrosion resistance, non-combustibility, high strength, and high chemical durability. In addition, for specific examples of the material, it may be a material such as a metal material, a ceramic material, a plastic, a plastic composite material, a ceramic composite material. The continuous flow reactor may also be coated with a ceramic material that is resistant to corrosion and heat.

A mixture of the present disclosure means a material comprising one or more fluids. More specifically, the mixture of the present disclosure may refer to a material composed of one or more fluids in which a chemical reaction may occur due to physical or chemical mixing.

The fluid of the present disclosure may be a material having a flowable fluid property. Specifically, the fluid may be a flowable material comprising one or more different components or particles. For example, the fluid may be a flowable material comprising solid particles such as a slurry. The above-described slurry is only an example of a fluid, and the fluid of the present disclosure is not limited to the slurry.

The types of fluids of the present disclosure may be classified according to the constituent chemical formulas or phases of each of the fluids. Accordingly, one or more fluids may refer to fluids having different chemical formulas or different phases.

For example, the one or more fluids may refer to fluid substances having phases such as liquids and gases. More specifically, for another example, the diazomethane gas and the benzoic acid solution may be one or more fluids. Components and phases of each of the above-described fluids are merely examples, and the above-described examples should not be construed as being limited with respect to components and phases of each of the fluids of the present disclosure.

The chemical reaction of the present disclosure is a chemical synthesis reaction that produces a product, and may be, for example, a digestion reaction, an oxidation reaction, a halogenation, a nitridation reaction, or a reaction using a toxic gas, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Accordingly, the chemical reaction of the mixture of the present disclosure may be a chemical synthesis reaction of fluids constituting the mixture. In addition, the product of the present disclosure refers to a substance produced through a chemical reaction of a mixture.

In addition, the chemical reaction of the present disclosure may be a multi-step chemical reaction having two or more steps occurring continuously. Specifically, in a chemical reaction having two or more successive steps, intermediate and final products are produced through sequential and successive steps. More specifically, in a chemical reaction having two or more steps, each of the steps before the final step produces intermediate products, and the final product produced in the final step can be produced through a chemical reaction of the intermediate product formed in the previous step. .

For example, in the chemical reaction of step 3, the intermediate product produced in step 1 is chemically reacted again in step 2 to produce another intermediate product. In addition, the final product produced in step 3, which is the final step, may be produced through a chemical reaction of other intermediate products produced in step 2. One step in the chemical reaction of the present disclosure may mean a case in which two types of substances generate at least one other new substance through a chemical reaction.

A product of the present disclosure means any substance produced through the chemical reaction of a mixture. In addition, the product is not limited to a fluid, and may have a phase such as a solid, a liquid, or a gas. In a chemical reaction of two or more steps, the product may be a product comprising at least one of an end product or an intermediate product. The intermediate product may mean an incomplete molecule having strong energy in a short time, and may be a reaction intermediate or an intermediate. Accordingly, the intermediate product is not stable due to high reactivity, and a chemical reaction with another substance or molecule may occur quickly in order to be converted into a stable final product. That is, in the present disclosure, the final product is in a chemically stable state, and the intermediate product is in an unstable state. Hereafter, the description of the product may be a description of all products, unless it is separately described as a final product or an intermediate product.

Flow in the present disclosure may mean that a fluid moves by diffusion or external force. Here, the external force may mean, for example, an adhesion force of gravity or capillary action, but the external force related to the flow of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Specifically, in the present disclosure, flowing of a mixture including one or more fluids may mean moving while flowing in a predetermined direction.

A continuous flow reactor comprising one or more fluid reaction sets according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below.

1 is an illustrative diagram illustratively illustrating a continuous flow reactor including one or more fluid reaction sets in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the continuous flow reactor 1000 may include one or more fluid reaction sets 100 . The fluid reaction set 100 of the present disclosure may be a minimum structural unit of the continuous flow reactor 1000 for mixing two or more types of fluids to induce a chemical reaction of the fluids to produce a product according to an embodiment of the present disclosure . That is, the continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure requires at least one fluid reaction set 100 to mix two or more types of fluids to induce a chemical reaction to obtain a product.

Each of the fluid reaction sets 100 of the continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure may include two or more inlets for injecting two or more types of fluids. Specifically, the number of inlets may be determined based on the types of fluids injected for the chemical reaction. For example, when there are two types of injected fluids, the fluid reaction sets 100 may include a first inlet 111 and a second inlet 112 as shown in FIG. 1 . The types of the above-described fluids and the first inlet 111 and the second inlet 112 shown in FIG. 1 are only examples, and the types of inlets and injected fluids of the present disclosure are limited and not interpreted due to the above-described examples. shouldn't

The continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure may include a cooling water line 150 capable of moving cooling water. Specifically, the cooling water line 150 of the present disclosure is to adjust the temperature of at least one of the temperature of the microreactor 1000 , the temperature of the fluid reaction set 100 , or the fluids flowing inside the microreactor 10000 . It may be a component through which the coolant can flow. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the coolant line 150 may be a tube for controlling the temperature of the flow channel by flowing the coolant between the flow channels. In the cooling water line 150 , an operation related to the cooling water supply may be controlled by the state control unit of the continuous flow reactor 1000 . The description of the cooling water line 150 will be described in more detail later through the description of the monitoring unit and the state control unit.

In addition, each of the fluid reaction sets 100 of the continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure may include an outlet 140 for discharging produced products and fluids. One or more fluid reaction sets 100 included in the continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure may be connected to each other. Specifically, the outlet 140 of at least one of the fluid reaction sets 100 may be connected to the inlet of the other fluid reaction set 100 . A product produced by the chemical reaction of the fluids passing through the fluid reaction sets 100 of the present disclosure may be discharged through the outlet 140 not connected to the inlet.

Also, as shown in FIG. 1 , the fluid reaction sets 100 may be stacked and connected to each other, where stacking means stacking on top of each other. The stacked and connected fluid reaction sets 100 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2 as follows.

2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a front cross-section of a continuous flow reactor 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fluid reaction sets 100 may be stacked and connected to each other. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , an outlet 140 of one of the stacked fluid reaction sets 100 may be connected to an inlet of another fluid reaction set 100 . Also, as shown in FIG. 2 , the coolant line 150 may be located between the fluid reaction sets 100 .

In addition, each of the fluid reaction sets 100 of the present disclosure may include a backflow prevention unit 120 connected to each of the inlets to prevent reverse flow of the injected fluids. In addition, each of the fluid reaction sets 100 of the present disclosure may include a fluid reaction unit 130 connected to the backflow prevention unit 120 and including flow paths for inducing a chemical reaction of the fluids.

The backflow prevention unit 120 of the present disclosure is configured to prevent backflow of injected fluids through different inlets, and the fluid reaction unit 130 of the present disclosure is configured to mix and chemically react the injected fluids. can

The forward direction of the present disclosure may mean a direction from the inlet to the fluid reaction unit 130 or a direction intended by a user using the continuous flow reactor 1000, and the reverse direction of the present disclosure may mean a direction different from the forward direction. and may be in the opposite direction to the forward direction. That is, it may be a different direction from the direction from the inlet to the fluid reaction unit 130 . For example, the reverse direction is a direction not intended by the user, a direction from the fluid reaction unit 130 to the inlet, or an inlet. It may be a direction in which the fluid may be discharged, or the like. The above-described reverse direction is only examples, and the reverse direction of the present disclosure is not limited due to the above-described examples and should not be interpreted.

Accordingly, the reverse flow of the present disclosure may mean that the fluid flows in a direction different from the forward direction, or the fluid may flow in a direction opposite to the forward direction. For example, the fluid flowing in the reverse direction is a fluid that flows in a direction not intended by the user, flows in a reverse direction from the fluid reaction unit 130 toward the inlet, or flows in a direction in which the fluid can be discharged to the inlet. may be The above-described reverse flow is only examples, and the above-described examples should not be interpreted as limiting the reverse flow of the present disclosure.

In addition, the reverse flow of the present disclosure may mean that at least some of the fluids injected through the different inlets flow in a reverse direction or that the fluid is ejected through the inlets. The reverse flow of the present disclosure may be generated by a change in pressure difference generated at the inlet by the fluid injected into the inlet. In particular, when the inlets have the same size and the amounts of fluids injected into each of the inlets are different, a reverse flow may occur due to a pressure difference.

Accordingly, the backflow prevention of the present disclosure may be to prevent a reverse flow for at least some of the fluids injected into the different inlets or to reverse the flow direction in a forward direction. In the present disclosure, backflow may be prevented through the backflow prevention unit 120 , and chemical reactions of fluids may be minimized before being injected into the fluid reaction unit 130 by the backflow prevention unit 120 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, two or more types of fluids injected into different inlets flow in the same direction a, and at least some of the second fluids injected into the second inlet 112 are in the forward direction (a) and It may flow in a different or reverse direction or the second fluid may be ejected back into the second inlet 112 . This phenomenon is described as counterflow in the present disclosure, and counterflow may occur before fluids are injected into the fluid reaction unit 130 to slow down the production rate of the final product or cause the final product with low purity. Accordingly, the backflow prevention unit 120 of the present disclosure may minimize the aforementioned backflow phenomenon before fluids are injected into the fluid reaction unit 130 where the actual chemical reaction occurs by being connected to the inlets.

Specifically, the backflow prevention unit 120 of the present disclosure includes a backflow prevention element 122 having a structure to control the flow direction of the fluids using frictional force to prevent the reverse flow of the fluids with respect to the injection flow path 121 . In this way, it is possible to prevent or minimize the backflow of fluids. The backflow prevention unit 120 of the present disclosure will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS. 4A to 9 .

3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating one fluid reaction set 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

At least one of the backflow prevention unit 120 and the fluid reaction unit 130 of the fluid reaction set 100 of the present disclosure may be manufactured on a plate through an etching process. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 , the fluid reaction set 100 may be a plate, and at least one of the backflow prevention unit 120 or the fluid reaction unit 130 of the fluid reaction set 100 is disposed on the plate. It may be a flow path formed through an etching process.

The backflow prevention unit 120 or the fluid reaction unit 130 of the fluid reaction set 100 formed through the etching process on the above-described plate is only an example, and the fluid reaction set 100 of the present disclosure due to the above-described examples. The method and process of manufacturing should not be construed as being limited. Specifically, the backflow prevention unit 120 or the fluid reaction unit 130 of the fluid reaction set 100 of the present disclosure may be manufactured by a process other than the etching process, and may be manufactured in a thick polygonal structure in addition to the plate. have.

In addition, the fluid reaction set 100 of the present disclosure may be made of a material that is easy to mold and has high corrosion resistance, non-combustibility and chemical durability, such as the material of the continuous flow reactor 1000 described above. A specific example of the material constituting the fluid reaction set 100 may be a material such as a metal material, a ceramic material, a plastic, a plastic composite material, and a ceramic composite material.

4A is an exemplary diagram illustrating the backflow prevention unit 120 of the fluid reaction set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4A , the backflow prevention unit 120 of the present disclosure has an injection passage 121 connected to the inlets and the fluid reaction unit 130 to flow fluids from the inlets to the fluid reaction unit 130 . may include. Specifically, the injection passage 121 may be a main passage for injecting the fluids injected through the inlets into the fluid reaction unit 130 .

The backflow preventing unit 120 of the present disclosure may include a backflow preventing element 122 having a structure to control the flow direction of the fluids to prevent the reverse flow of the fluids to the injection passage 121 . Specifically, the backflow prevention element 122 has a structure for preventing backflow of injected fluids and may be a fluid passage through which the fluids can flow. The backflow prevention element 122 of the present disclosure may be disposed in the injection passage 121 based on the connection positions of the injection passage 121 and the inlets, respectively, and may be connected to the injection passage 121 . Here, the connection position means a position where each of the inlets and the injection passage 121 are connected on the injection passage 121 .

More specifically, the control of the flow direction of the fluids by the non-return element 122 will be described with reference to FIG. 4B as follows.

4B is an exemplary diagram illustrating a state of preventing the reverse flow of the backflow prevention unit 120 of the fluid reaction set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4B , the second fluid injected into the second inlet 112 may flow in a reverse direction with respect to the forward direction (a) from the inlet to the fluid reaction unit 130 . Specifically, with respect to the first connection position in which the first inlet 111 of the present disclosure is located, the injection flow path 121 may be viewed in a non-existent or blocked state with respect to the reverse direction, which is a direction different from the forward direction (a). That is, the fluids injected into the first inlet 111 have no choice but to flow in the forward direction (a). On the other hand, the second connection position of the second inlet 112 to the injection passage 121 is located at a connection position in which the injected fluids can flow in either the forward direction (a) or the reverse direction. That is, in FIG. 4B , the first fluid injected through the first inlet 111 has no choice but to flow in the forward direction (a), but at least a portion of the second fluid injected through the second inlet 112 may flow in the forward direction ( It may also flow in a reverse direction different from that of a).

Accordingly, the non-return element 122 of the present disclosure is to be disposed on the reverse flow path based on the connection location of each of the inlets at which the reverse flow can be generated to return the reverse flow for at least some of the fluids in the forward direction. can Specifically, referring to FIG. 4B , as described above, a reverse flow may be generated at the second inlet 112 , and accordingly, the non-return element 122 is disposed on the reverse flow path of the second inlet 112 . can be placed.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4B , the backflow prevention element 122 of the present disclosure is connected to the injection flow path 121 at a position arranged based on the connection positions of the inlets to direct fluids flowing in the reverse direction in the forward direction (a). It could be a way back. More specifically, the backflow prevention element 122 may be configured as an annular flow path connected at a connection angle c of preferably 5 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less with respect to the injection flow path 121 . The connection angle c means an angle between the backflow prevention element 122 and the injection passage 121 connected to each other as shown in FIG. 4B .

When the connection angle c of the present disclosure is greater than 30 degrees or less than 5 degrees, it was confirmed through the following experiment that the backflow prevention effect of the backflow prevention element 122 drops sharply.

Specifically, an experiment to prove the preferable range of the connection angle c of the backflow prevention element 122 described above is an experiment using the Vellarmaux method, and the experiment will be described in detail as follows.

In this experiment, it is determined whether the backflow of the fluids injected into each of the first inlet 111 and the second inlet 112 is prevented to some extent according to the different connection angles c of the backflow prevention element 122 shown in FIG. 4B . It is an experiment to

Specifically, this experiment is an experiment on the backflow prevention parts 120 manufactured as shown in FIG. 4b , and each of the backflow prevention parts 120 used in the experiment has a connection angle c of 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees, 25 degrees, 30 degrees, 35 degrees, 40 degrees, 45 degrees, 50 degrees and 55 degrees differently configured non-return element 122 . In this experiment, the first test fluid was injected into the first inlet 111 of each of the backflow prevention units 120 , and the second test fluid was injected into the second inlet 112 .

As shown in FIG. 4B , the counterflow of the second test fluid injected into the second inlet 112 may be a flow that flows in a direction opposite to the forward direction (a). When the backflow prevention element 122 fails to prevent the backflow of the second test fluid, the second test fluid may be mixed and chemically reacted with the first test fluid injected into the first inlet 111 to generate a product.

(0.003M) 및 KI(0.016M)를 포함하는 혼합물이다. 또한, 본 실험에서 제 2 유입구(112)에 주입된 제 2 실험 유체는 NaOH (0.045M) 및

(0.045M)을 포함하는 혼합물이다.Specifically, the first test fluid injected into the first inlet 111 in this experiment is HCl (0.015M),

(0.003M) and KI (0.016M). In addition, in this experiment, the second test fluid injected into the second inlet 112 is NaOH (0.045M) and

(0.045M).

Accordingly, a chemical reaction formula that can be induced by mixing the first and second test fluids in this experiment is as follows.

의 농도가 줄어들고, 무색 투명한 아이오딘화 나트륨(Nal)을 포함하는 생산물을 획득할 수 있다. 즉, 제 1 실험 유체 및 제 2 실험 유체의 혼합 정도 및 화학 반응의 정도가 높을수록 유색의

의 농도가 줄어들고 보다 투명한 생성물의 농도가 증가하여. 높은 투과율을 가질 수 있다.As the chemical reaction according to the above chemical reaction proceeds, the reddish-brown first test fluid contains

The concentration of is reduced, and a product containing colorless and transparent sodium iodide (Nal) can be obtained. That is, the higher the degree of mixing and the degree of chemical reaction of the first test fluid and the second test fluid, the higher the color

As the concentration of the product decreases and the concentration of the more transparent product increases. It may have high transmittance.

Accordingly, the first test fluid is injected into the first inlet 111 for each of the backflow prevention parts 120 including the backflow prevention element 122 of a different connection angle c, and the second inlet 112 . By injecting the second test fluid into the and measuring the permeability of the fluid between the first inlet 111 and the backflow prevention element 122, the concentration of sodium iodide increased due to the backflow of the second test fluid. can be judged

In this experiment, the transmittance for the fluid between the first inlet 111 and the backflow prevention element 122 is the transmittance measured by irradiating light of 353 nm. In addition, in this experiment, the transmittance of the fluid between the first inlet 111 and the non-return element 122 measured differently according to the different connection angles c of the non-return elements 122 is shown in the graph of FIG. 5 . it was

5 is a graph showing the measurement of the permeability of the fluid between the first inlet 111 and the backflow prevention element 122 for the experiment of the present disclosure.

Specifically, FIG. 5 is a graph related to the present experiment described above, and shows the transmittance measured for the fluid between the first inlet 111 and the non-return element 122 according to different connection angles of the non-return elements 122 . have.

As shown in Fig. 5, when the connection angle (c) exceeds 30 degrees, as the transmittance tends to increase, the backflow of the second experimental fluid injected into the second inlet 112 is prevented by a backflow prevention element ( 122) does not effectively prevent it. Accordingly, the preferred connection angle c of the present disclosure may be 5 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less.

The backflow prevention element 122 of the present disclosure may be configured as an annular flow path as shown in FIG. 4B , and more specifically, may be configured as a fan-shaped flow path. However, the shape and number of inlets of the backflow prevention element 122 described with reference are only examples, and the shape and number of inlets of the backflow prevention element 122 are limited due to FIG. 4b and the above-described examples and should not be interpreted. will be. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 9 , the backflow prevention element 122 may have various shapes.

8 is an exemplary view illustrating another shape of the backflow prevention unit 120 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. And FIG. 9 is an exemplary view exemplarily showing the backflow preventing element 122 of the backflow preventing unit 120 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 8 , the non-return element 122 of the present disclosure may have a circular annular shape different from the non-return element 122 illustrated in FIG. 4B . In addition, as shown in FIG. 9 , the backflow prevention element 122 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure may have a connection angle c and be connected to the injection passage 121 .

The total number of backflow prevention elements 122 of the present disclosure may correspond to the total number of inlets into which fluids are injected. More specifically, the backflow prevention element 122 of the present disclosure may be disposed to include one or more and three or less between the connection positions of each of the inlets. That is, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more and three or less backflow prevention elements 122 may be disposed between the connection positions of the inlets to the injection passage 121 . The number of the backflow prevention elements 122 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 6 as follows.

6 is an exemplary view illustrating the backflow prevention structures of the backflow prevention unit 120 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the backflow prevention element 122 may be disposed such that three are included between the connection positions of the first inlet 111 and the second inlet 112 to the injection passage 121 . As described above, the backflow prevention element 122 can control the flow direction of the fluids flowing in the reverse direction, and thus the backflow prevention effect may increase as the number of the backflow prevention elements 122 increases. However, it may be difficult to constantly control the flow rate or residence time of the fluids. Specifically, it may take a long time for the injected fluids to reach the fluid reaction unit 130 due to the large number of backflow prevention elements 122 . That is, the difference between the time when a portion of the fluids that reached the fluid reaction unit 130 first started a chemical reaction and the time that the last part of the fluids that reached the fluid reaction unit 130 last started the chemical reaction may become large. It can be difficult to induce a uniform chemical reaction throughout.

Therefore, for uniform chemical reaction and precise reaction time control, the backflow prevention element 122 of the present disclosure is preferably arranged to include one or more and three or less between the connection positions of each of the inlets.

7 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a part of a fluid reaction set including two backflow prevention units 120 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of backflow prevention units 120 may be determined based on the number of inlets. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7 , the backflow prevention unit 120 may be connected to each of the two inlets. When the reactivity of the fluids is so high that a chemical reaction can be started even with a small amount of mixing, the backflow prevention unit 120 may be connected to each inlet as shown in FIG. 7 .

6 to 7 described above, the number of inlets is only examples, and the number of inlets of the present disclosure is not limited as shown in FIGS. 6 to 7 .

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure may include a monitoring unit including one or more sensors for monitoring fluids. Specifically, the monitoring unit of the present disclosure may be configured to monitor and sense the chemical reaction and physical properties of the mixture. Here, the physical properties refer to the physical properties of the mixture, such as mass, temperature, density, and flow rate of the mixture.

The monitoring unit of the present disclosure may include one or more sensors capable of generating one or more sensing data on the chemical reaction and physical properties of the mixture. The sensing data of the present disclosure may refer to data measured by sensors on a chemical reaction and physical properties of a mixture. For example, the sensing data may include temperature sensing data of temperature sensors and component sensing data of a chemical sensor, but this is only an example and the sensing data of the present disclosure is not limited to temperature sensing data and component sensing data.

As in the present disclosure, temperature is the most important factor in micro-scale chemical reactions or continuous flow chemical reactions. Accordingly, the one or more sensors included in the monitoring unit of the present disclosure may include a temperature sensor that senses the temperature of the fluids and generates one or more temperature sensing data. The temperature sensing data of the present disclosure may be data on at least one of a temperature of fluids flowing inside the continuous flow reactor 1000 , a temperature of a microreactor, or a temperature of each of the fluid reaction sets 100 .

In addition, the monitoring unit of the present disclosure may include a chemical sensor for generating one or more component sensing data by sensing at least one of components included in the fluids. Specifically, the chemical sensor of the present disclosure may generate component sensing data for a component of the mixture and a component of a product generated by the chemical reaction in order to monitor whether the mixture has a chemical reaction. For example, the chemical sensor of the monitoring unit may generate component sensing data in relation to the progress of a chemical reaction of a mixture or detection of a highly explosive intermediate product component.

In addition, the chemical sensor of the present disclosure may be disposed between the inlet and the backflow prevention element 122 of the backflow prevention unit 120 to determine whether a chemical reaction occurs due to the reverse flow of the fluids. Specifically, when the backflow prevention element 122 fails to return the direction of the fluid flowing in the reverse direction to the forward direction, a chemical reaction between the fluid flowing in the reverse direction and another fluid flowing in the forward direction may occur.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 4B , the chemical sensor of the present disclosure may be disposed between the backflow prevention element 122 and the first inlet 111 . Accordingly, when the reverse flow of the second fluid injected through the second inlet 112 does not return to the forward direction (a) due to the backflow prevention element 122 , the first fluid injected through the first inlet 111 is A product component generated through a chemical reaction between the fluid and the second fluid may be sensed through the chemical sensor.

In addition, the continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure may include a state control unit for controlling the state of the fluids based on the sensing data of the monitoring unit for stable flow of the fluids. The state control unit of the present disclosure may be configured to control the state of the mixture. The state of the mixture is a chemical and physical state related to the chemical reaction of the mixture, and may include the temperature of the mixture, the flow rate, the components of the product generated by the chemical reaction of the mixture, the concentration of the product, and the like.

The state control unit of the present disclosure may receive at least one or more sensing data on the state of the mixture from the monitoring unit. The state control unit of the present disclosure may determine the state of the mixture based on the sensing data of the monitoring unit. Specifically, the state control unit of the present disclosure may determine the temperature of the mixture, the flow rate, the presence or absence of the product, the concentration of the product, and the like based on the sensing data of the monitoring unit.

In addition, the state control unit of the present disclosure may control the state of the mixture based on the determined state of the mixture. For example, the state control unit of the present disclosure may control the temperature of the fluids based on the temperature sensing data of the monitoring unit. Specifically, the state control unit may control other components of the continuous flow reactor 1000 that affect the temperature of the fluid mixture passing through the fluid reaction sets 100 . Specifically, other components of the continuous flow reactor 1000 that affect the temperature may be the cooling water line 150 and the heater, but other components of the present disclosure are not limited to the cooling water line 150 and the heater.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 2 , the state control unit operates the cooling water line 150 based on the temperature sensing data generated by the temperature sensor of the monitoring unit to lower the temperature of the mixture of the fluid reaction set 100 or the cooling water The operation of line 150 may be stopped. In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the state controller may increase the temperature of the mixture of the fluid reaction set 100 by operating the heater based on the temperature sensing data of the monitoring unit.

In general, the continuous flow reactor 1000 has a hazardous chemical reaction against a mixture containing a high-risk fluid such as a highly reactive fluid such as diazomethane gas or a toxic fluid such as divinyl sulfone (DVS). is also used Hazardous chemical reactions herein may include hydrogenation reactions, oxidation reactions, halogenation reactions, nitridation reactions, diazotization reactions, Grignard reactions, and reactions using toxic gases. Accordingly, the continuous flow reactor 1000 of the present disclosure may include a monitoring unit and a state control unit to monitor and control the state of the mixture in real time.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the continuous flow reactor 1000 may include a network unit. Specifically, the network unit of the present disclosure may transmit the sensing data of the monitoring unit and the mixture state control related data of the state control unit to the external terminal. Accordingly, according to the present disclosure, a user may directly monitor or store and manage sensing data by receiving sensing data for a chemical reaction of the continuous flow reactor 1000 and data related to mixture state control to an external terminal.

In addition, the network unit of the present disclosure may receive a control command from an external terminal and transmit the control command to the state control unit of the present disclosure. Specifically, the present disclosure may directly receive a control command from the user based on the sensed data transmitted to the external terminal. Accordingly, the user may directly control the state of the mixture according to the user's intention.

The description of the presented embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art of the present disclosure. The generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments presented herein, but is to be construed in the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features presented herein.

Claims (10)

A continuous flow reactor, the continuous flow reactor comprising one or more fluid reaction sets, and
Each of the fluid reaction sets comprises:
two or more inlets for injecting two or more types of fluids;
a backflow prevention unit connected to each of the inlets to prevent a reverse flow of the injected fluids; and
a fluid reaction unit connected to the backflow prevention unit and including flow paths for inducing a chemical reaction of the fluids;
containing,
continuous flow reactor.
The method of claim 1,
The backflow prevention unit,
an injection passage connected to the inlets and the fluid reaction unit to flow the fluids from the inlets to the fluid reaction unit; and
a non-return element having a structure for controlling a flow direction of the fluids to prevent a reverse flow of the fluids with respect to the injection passage;
containing,
continuous flow reactor.
3. The method of claim 2,
The backflow prevention element comprises:
It is arranged based on the connection position of each of the injection passage and the inlets,
continuous flow reactor.
3. The method of claim 2,
The total number of the non-return element is a number corresponding to the total number of the inlets through which the fluids are injected,
continuous flow reactor.
3. The method of claim 2,
The backflow prevention element comprises:
It is an annular flow path connected at a connection angle of 5 degrees or more and 30 degrees or less with respect to the injection flow path,
continuous flow reactor.
The method of claim 1,
a monitoring unit including one or more sensors for monitoring the fluids; and
a state controller for controlling states of the fluids based on the sensing data of the monitoring unit for stable flow of the fluids;
further comprising,
continuous flow reactor.
7. The method of claim 6,
the one or more sensors,
a temperature sensor sensing the temperature of the fluids to generate one or more temperature sensing data; and
a chemical sensor that senses at least one of the components included in the fluids to generate one or more component sensing data;
containing,
continuous flow reactor.
8. The method of claim 7,
The chemical sensor is
disposed between the inlet and the non-return element of the non-return portion to determine whether the reverse flow of the fluids causes a chemical reaction;
continuous flow reactor.
The method of claim 1,
an outlet connected to the fluid reaction unit and discharging the products and the fluids generated in the fluid reaction unit;
further comprising,
continuous flow reactor.
10. The method of claim 9,
wherein the outlet of at least one of the fluid reaction sets is connected with the inlet of another fluid reaction set;
continuous flow reactor.

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