Intensified continuous processes are a key innovation of the last decade for the production of high quality, high value and customer-specific products at competitive prices in a sustainable fashion. To realize the potential of this technology, key steps must be made towards long-term stable, tightly controlled and fully automated production. The goal of the CONSENS project is to advance the continuous production of high-value products meeting high quality demands in flexible intensified continuous plants by introducing novel online sensing equipment and closed-loop control of the key product parameters. CONSENS will focus on flexible continuous plants but the results will be transferable also to large-scale continuous processes. The research and development is driven by industrial case studies from three different areas, spanning the complete value chain of chemical production: complex organic synthesis, speciality polymers, and formulation of complex liquids. Innovative PAT technology will be developed for online concentration measurements (mid-resolution process NMR), for the online non-invasive measurement of rheological properties of complex fluids, and for continuous measurements of fouling in tubular reactors. New model-based adaptive control schemes based on innovative PAT technology will be developed. The project results will be validated in industrial pilot plants for all three types of processes, including validation in production containers that have been developed in the F3 Factory project. Further, methods for sensor failure monitoring, control performance monitoring and engineering support for PAT-based solutions will be developed. The exploitation of the new technologies will be facilitated by a tool for technology evaluation and economic impact assessment. A Cross-sectorial Advisory Board supports the transfer of PAT technologies and adaptive control to neighboring sectors of the European processing industry.

SIMPLIFY, the Sonication and Microwave Processing of material Feedstock project, aims at enabling the electrification of the chemical process industry – and in particular the specialty chemicals industries. SIMPLIFY's vision is that of intensified processes, where alternative energy sources enable flexible continuous technologies to achieve localized ultrasound and microwave actuation of multiphase, flow reactors powered by electricity from renewable sources for the purpose of high-value product synthesis. SIMPLIFY has selected three major classes of specialty processes to work on: i. The class of chemical processes involving highly viscous streams, with MW/US-assisted reactive extrusion of polyurethane as representative; ii. The class of chemical processes involving suspensions, in particular those requiring long residence times (up to hours), with US/MW-assisted reactive crystallization of zeolite microparticles in a continuous oscillatory baffle reactor (COBR); iii. The class of chemical processes involving suspensions, in particular those with inherently high reaction rates (residence times of seconds to minutes), with MW/US-assisted reactive crystallization of titania nanoparticle synthesis in a plug flow reactor (PFR). SIMPLIFY advances the technology readiness level (TRL) of flow technology for these multiphase streams involving suspensions or viscous products from TRL4 (technology validation in lab) to TRL6 (industrial demonstration), thus pushing the transition from chemical reactions with poor resource – both material and energy – efficiency and variable product quality to processes with high resource efficiency and excellent, uniform product properties.

WOODCELL aims to further build on Fibenol’s unique SWEETWOODS production facility to enable production of micro-scale specialty Micro-crystalline Cellulose (MCC) from woody biomass sources, that is significantly more affordable than cellulose materials with comparable properties. WOODCELL is highly efficient (95% Vs 40-50% for alternative commercial processes) with energy usage ~3 times lower. In addition, WOODCELL MCC is produced at high solids content (18-20% before drying) and is colloidally stable, overcoming the usual negative effects of dewatering during processing. WOODCELL will achieve competitive price (even against other abundant chemicals). This, combined with the unique properties will enable WOODCELL to unlock new markets globally. WOODCELL will design and build a sustainable, cost-effective, first-of-a-kind, flagship MCC biorefinery producing 4 kt/y by 2029. The modular design, combined with existing IP and freedom to operate will be key factors to enabling the rapid commercial exploitation and replication. Following the successful build and operation of the WOODCELL MCC plant, WOODCELL will move into a replication phase and build a new MCC production facility capable of producing 20 kt/y by 2030. Based on these unique MCCs, WOODCELL will develop the whole value chain from the feedstock supply to processing and production steps in order to create the basis for at least 5 new bio-based value chains and create at least 5 new consumer products produced from bio-based materials, based on existing commercially viable products from out industrial partners: DS Smith a multinational packaging business, Coatex a multinational manufacturer of specialty materials and Skeleton Technologies is a hi-tech company that develop energy storage solutions.

SIMPLI-DEMO, the Demonstration of Sonication and Microwave Processing of essential chemicals project, aims at strengthening the chemical process industry ? and in particular the specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries ? in its capacity to produce materials and chemicals in a sustainable and competitive way by moving from batch to continuous and modular production with flexibility being ensured by the application of alternative energy forms. Currently, the conventional technologies in the specialty and pharma sector tend to be batch-type, combined with mechanical mixing and conduction-based heat transfer, inherently leading to poor process control. SIMPLI-DEMO's vision is that of intensified processes, where alternative energy sources enable continuous and modular technologies to achieve localized actuation of multiphase, flow reactors for the purpose of high-value product synthesis. SIMPLI-DEMO focuses on the synthesis of specialty polymers and particles for use in a wide variety of every-day-use products, e.g. insulation, paints and coatings, plastics, catalysts, as well as health applications, which are important domains in the chemical industry today and into the future. Therefore, SIMPLI-DEMO advances the technology readiness level (TRL) of modular flow technology for multiphase streams involving suspensions or viscous products from TRL5 (validation in relevant environment) to TRL7 (industrial system demonstration). SIMPLI-DEMO has brought together a consortium of four end-user chemical companies, two technology suppliers (ultrasound and microwave technology), five universities and research institutions (process control & automation, reactive extrusion, oscillatory flow, ultrasound, microwaves), one SME experienced in modular automation and another SME experienced in sustainability assessment and exploitation.