Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM
Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems IMM

Reactors and synthesis plants for flow photochemistry

High-power irradiation for your process

For all our reactors, we use high-performance LED arrays that we have developed and adapted to the reactor architecture and to the photochemical process in terms of power and wavelength. We use commercially available emitters with emission wavelengths between 365 nm and 700 nm with an electrical power of up to 3 W per emitter.

Falling film microreactor for fast photoreactions with irradiation times shorter than 30 seconds

Falling film microreactor FFMR-STANDARD
© Fraunhofer IMM
Falling film microreactor FFMR-STANDARD

Laboratory reactor FFMR-STANDARD

  • Liquid flow rate: 0.1 – 1 ml min-1
  • Gas flow rate: 10 – 500 ml min-1
  • Temperature management via integrated heat exchanger: -30 °C to +160 °C
  • Max. pressure @ room temperature: 8 bar
  • Microchannel dimensions: 300 µm wide, 100 µm deep (64 channels); 600 µm wide, 200 µm deep (32 channels); 1200 µm wide, 400 µm deep (16 channels).
  • For homogeneous photocatalysis with photocatalysts dissolved in the reaction fluid.
  • For heterogeneous photocatalysis with catalysts immobilized on the microchannel walls.
Falling film microreactor FFMR-LARGE
© Fraunhofer IMM
Falling film microreactor FFMR-LARGE

10-fold scaled laboratory reactor FFMR-LARGE

  • Liquid flow rate: 1 – 10 ml min-1
  • Gas flow rate: 10 – 1000 ml min-1
  • Temperature management via integrated heat exchanger: -30 °C to +140 °C
  • Max. pressure @ room temperature: 4 bar
  • Microchannel dimensions: 600 µm wide, 150 µm deep (100 channels); 1200 µm wide, 400 µm deep (50 channels).
  • For homogeneous photocatalysis with photocatalysts dissolved in the reaction fluid.
  • For heterogeneous photocatalysis with catalysts immobilized on the microchannel walls.
Falling film microreaktor FFMR-FOIL (Illuminate project)
© Fraunhofer IMM
Falling film microreaktor FFMR-FOIL (Illuminate project)
Exchangable foil carrier of the falling film microreaktor FFMR-FOIL (Illuminate project)
© Fraunhofer IMM
Exchangable foil carrier of the falling film microreaktor FFMR-FOIL (Illuminate project)

Laboratory reactor FFMR-FOIL

  • Microstructured polypropylene film for liquid thin film formation
  • High transparency ideal for photo-catalysed processes
  • Irradiable on both sides
  • Liquid flow rate: 1 – 10 mL min-1
  • Gas flow rate: 10 – 100 mL min-1
  • Microchannel dimensions: 600 µm wide, 300 µm deep (20 channels).
  • For homogeneous photocatalysis with photocatalysts dissolved in the reaction fluid.
  • For heterogeneous photocatalysis with catalysts immobilized on the microchannel walls via plasma technology and wet chemistry.
  • Especially dedicated to photochemical-assisted biocatalysis at room temperature.
FFMR-STANDARD for gas-liquid reactions
© Fraunhofer IMM
FFMR-STANDARD for gas-liquid reactions

FFMR-based laboratory plant 1

  • FFMR-STANDARD with thermostat connections and gas mass flow control unit for gas-liquid photochemical reactions.
FFMR for double-sided irradiation of a diamond catalyst on the reaction plate (CarbonCat project).
© Fraunhofer IMM
FFMR for double-sided irradiation of a diamond catalyst on the reaction plate (CarbonCat project).

FFMR-based laboratory plant 2

  • Novel FFMR for double-sided irradiation of the reaction plate for the activation of CO2 with a diamond catalyst (CarbonCat project).

Capillary photoreactor for time-consuming photoreactions (minutes to hours of irradiation time)

1/16” Capillary photoreactor with removed LED array
© Fraunhofer IMM
1/16” Capillary photoreactor with removed LED array
1/16” Capillary photoreactor with LED array switched on at 460 nm
© Fraunhofer IMM
1/16” Capillary photoreactor with LED array switched on at 460 nm

Laboratory reactor DISCO

  • FEP capillary, 1/8” or 1/16” internal diameter with 30 ml or 15 ml internal capillary volume
  • 1-fold or 2-fold capillary winding for doubling the reactor volume or parallelization
  • Liquid flow rate: 0.1 – 5 ml min-1
  • Gas flow rate: 0.1 – 10 ml min-1
  • Temperature management of the capillary via integrated heat exchanger: -15 °C to +90 °C
  • Max. pressure @ room temperature: 50 bar
  • LED array temperature control via separate cooling circuit.
  • For homogeneous photocatalysis with photocatalysts dissolved in the reaction fluid.
  • For heterogeneous photocatalysis with catalysts suspended in gas-liquid slug flow.
  • Especially dedicated to photochemical-assisted biocatalysis at room temperature.
1/8” Capillary photoreactor with removed LED array and capillary tray
© Fraunhofer IMM
1/8” Capillary photoreactor with removed LED array and capillary tray
1/8” Capillary photoreactor with LED array switched on at 630 nm
© Fraunhofer IMM
1/8” Capillary photoreactor with LED array switched on at 630 nm

Laboratory reactor DISCO-CapEx

  • FEP capillary 1/8” or 1/16” internal diameter with 30 mL or 15 mL internal capillary volume
  • Capillary fixed in a removable tray for easy exchange
  • Liquid flow rate: 0.1 – 5 mL min-1
  • Gas flow rate: 0.1 – 10 mL min-1
  • Temperature management of the capillary via integrated heat exchanger: -15 °C to +90 °C
  • Max. pressure @ room temperature: 50 bar
  • LED array temperature control via separate cooling circuit.
  • For homogeneous photocatalysis with photocatalysts dissolved in the reaction fluid.
  • For heterogeneous photocatalysis with catalysts suspended in gas-liquid slug flow.
  • Especially dedicated to photochemical-assisted biocatalysis at room temperature.