Process Intensification: Fundamentals and some examples of industrialization

The list of challenges now facing all industrial sectors, particularly the materials processing sector, is long. Without claiming to be exhaustive, let us mention just a few: scarcity of resources (raw materials, water ...The need to maintain industrial competitiveness by controlling costs in a context of international competition; the growing importance of diversified sources of materials (biomass) and energy (renewable energies); the need to bring new products to market, from different origins and with different availability (biosourced products), recyclable or biodegradable (life-cycle analysis, LCA); growing demographics and therefore demand for ...

It is in this complex and demanding context that the notion of process intensification has emerged, a concern that unites both industry and academia around the notion of developing breakthrough technologies or methods for cleaner, safer production, with lower energy and material consumption.

The aim of this article is to review the fundamentals of process intensification, in terms of principles, tools and classification of technologies and methods, followed by some of the avenues available for identifying and overcoming the limitations inherent in any process. In particular, it is essential to diagnose the nature of the intrinsic limitation, i.e. whether it is chemical or physical. Depending on the outcome of this diagnosis, intensification strategies may differ, calling on multi-scale tools of either a technological or methodological nature, including :

• spatial structuring of equipment (especially miniaturization);

• Activation of phenomena or mechanisms by the application of energy (mechanical, thermal, etc.) or non-conventional energy (ultrasound, microwaves, UV, etc.);

• the search for synergy through multifunctionality or the hybridization of technologies;

• implementation of cyclic or unsteady process operating modes.

Given the diversity of possible ways to intensify a process, a number of initiatives have recently been launched, particularly in Europe, to assist the designer in his task of selecting the optimum route. These have led to the creation of industrial demonstration platforms and the development of methods to guide engineers in the development of intensified processes. This article also looks at the successes of process intensification, particularly in industry, as well as the obstacles to its development and transition to industrialization. The article concludes by outlining some of the prospects for process intensification to meet the industrial challenges of the future.