As environmental and safety regulations become more stringent, the chemical manufacturing industry is increasingly looking to continuous flow processing as an inherently safer technology that also offers a more efficient and less costly alternative to traditional batch processing. Long used in other trades such as petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, continuous flow methods have gained steady adoption in the production of fine chemicals, agrochemicals, and active pharmaceutical intermediates (APIs).
More than two decades ago, Corning Incorporated saw an opportunity to leverage its expertise in glass science to build a better microreactor for pharmaceutical applications. Although Corning initially intended to sell these fluidic modules alone, they realized that they could better serve their potential customers by offering a complete product and as a result, released their first full reactor – the G1 – in 2006.
Corning® Advanced-Flow™ Reactors (AFR) are continuous flow processing technologies that address a wide range of applications in pharma and fine chemical manufacturing. Every reactor in Corning’s product line is built around the same keystone component – the integrated fluidic module, a uniquely designed and meticulously engineered reactor plate made of either specialty glass or specialty silicon carbide – which allows for rapid and seamless scale-up from lab scale to commercial production, as well as improved heat transfer, mass transfer, and mixing. Compared to traditional batch reactors, Corning’s reactors leverage an inherently safer technology to offer dramatic savings in space, cost, and time while also enhancing purity and increasing yields; they are also more efficient and more durable in corrosive conditions than other continuous flow reactors on the market today.
Driven by market demand for greater reaction capacity, Corning also developed and commercialized higher-throughput models, collaborating closely with manufacturers to demonstrate the improved specifications. For their industrial-scale reactors, the G4, Corning sought to accommodate high-temperature caustic applications and reactions involving fluorine by making the fluidic modules out of a material with even better corrosion resistance than specialty glass: silicon carbide (SiC). By using high-quality SiC into their reactor design, Corning achieved superior corrosion resistance and product versatility, leading to higher throughput while maintaining excellent heat transfer and mixing performance. In addition, in 2020, Corning launched its G5 reactor for large-scale industrial production of chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Corning continues to expand its product portfolio with a variety of innovative offerings. There have been more than 600 installations of Corning reactors since the first was launched 16 years ago, and adoption of this technology continues to grow.
www.corning.com/reactors
