Additive Layer Manufacturing of Catalytic Static Mixers for Continuous Flow Reactors. Issue 3 (1st July 2018) - Hornung, Christian H.
With a design guided by computational fluid dynamics (CFD), additively manufactured from base metals and coated with metal catalysts using cold spray technology or electroplating, catalytic static mixers are used to replace fixed bed columns in continuous flow reactors. We have shown their versatility in gas-liquid hydrogenations and homogeneous transfer hydrogenations and review here their preparation, stability and wider use in catalytic transformations using flow reactors. Additive manufacturing provides complex mixer structures that can be retrofitted to existing reactor geometry and reduces manufacturing costs by removing abrasive blasting steps in the mixer fabrication process. The rough surface profile of the mixers aids with high metallurgical bonding of the catalyst coating, as shown by the low catalyst leaching levels reported here.