Multifunctional reactors

Multifunctional reactors combine reactor with other unit operation such as distillation, adsorption, stripping etc. These have several advantages such as reduction in capital cost, increasing selectivity and conversion and decrease in overall cost of the process. Initially,  feasibility studies were performed using both experimental and theoretical investigations in several multi-functional reactors such as reactive distillation, reactive chromatography and extractive reactions for industrially important processes (esterification reactions, etherification reactions etc). The mathematical models have been developed and were validated using experimental results. Geometric methods or simulator based design methodologies have been proposed which give good initial estimates of overall process.