博世高级陶瓷, together with chemicals firm巴斯夫and theKarlsruhe Institute of Technology(KIT), has developed what it claims is the world’s first 3D printed microreactor made of technical ceramic material.
A microreactor is a small-scale device designed to house and facilitate chemical reactions. To withstand the often extreme conditions created by these reactions, microreactors have to be stable in both high heat and corrosive conditions, but few materials offer such properties.
博世高级陶瓷has now combined its expertise in ceramics technology with additive manufacturing to enable the one-of-a-kind application. The microreactor is being used by BASF in day-to-day research applications, allowing the firm to monitor its chemical reactions under the necessary temperature conditions.
“To control and monitor a chemical reaction, a reactor needs to have hardness, heat resistance, and complex structures inside,” says Klaus Prosiegel, sales manager at Bosch Advanced Ceramics. “3D printed technical ceramics bring these excellent properties to the table.”
The market for technical ceramics
根据研究公司数据桥, the global technical ceramics market is expected to be worth approximately €16 billion by 2029. The material class is highly versatile and in demand in a wide variety of sectors.
For example, in medicine, Bosch Advanced Ceramics’ materials are used to manufacture bipolar scissors capable of cutting tissue and stopping bleeding simultaneously. An electrical current running through the metal in the blades heats the tissue to seal it, while the technical ceramic acts as an insulator to stop the metallic blades from short circuiting. This can make surgery both safer and faster.
Similarly, in the energy sector, the firm’s technical ceramics offer excellent heat resistance and ion conductivity for use in fuel-cell stacks. The mobility industry often makes its distance sensors out of technical ceramics too, helping drivers park their cars in tight spots.
3D打印的陶瓷微反应器
在大量的高级应用中，博世认识到技术陶瓷也可以做出出色的反应室。面临的挑战是找到一个可以制造这种特定微反应器所需的复杂结构的生产过程，这些结构本来是不可能使用传统制造的结构。
通过选择3D打印，合作伙伴发现反应堆比常规大型反应器所需的原材料更少，能量少得多。巴斯夫现在使用3D打印设备进行较小规模的实验并推断结果，然后再继续进行大规模项目。
Prosiegel解释说：“这就像厨师在将菜放在菜单上之前先在小规模上尝试新食谱。”
就接下来的步骤而言，合作伙伴现在打算3D打印10至20个反应堆，其设计与巴斯夫的设计完全相同。Prosiegel还认为，整个化学品领域的技术陶瓷的光明未来，表明每个实验室坩埚都是由技术陶瓷制成的。
这可能是3D打印的陶瓷微反应器的第一个实例，但是能源行业肯定具有3D打印的反应堆组件。就在上个月，在斯堪的纳维亚半岛的核电站中安装了一套加上制造的燃料组件。命名为“据点”过滤器，核燃料碎屑过滤器是3D打印的by西屋电气瑞典and are the first of their kind to be approved for end-use.
在其他地方，西雅图Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation（USNC）最近许可了一种新颖的方法3D print components for nuclear reactorsusing refractory materials such as silicon carbide. Developed byOak Ridge National Laboratory，该方法将粘合剂喷射3D打印技术与化学蒸气浸润过程相结合。
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特色图显示了巴斯夫监视视觉检查机中的化学反应。通过Bosch Advanced Ceramics的照片。
