| The explosion in nano-structure applications is truly astonishing. In the category of catalysis alone, within the last decade, hundreds of new highly effective nano- and micro-sized catalyst structures have been developed. Their many applications range from water remediation to high-tech manufacturing to medical / bio-tech and flue-gas detoxification in coal fired power plants, but they all have one thing in common: Their effectiveness is largely a result of their size - they are so small that there surface area per unit mass is often greater than 50 square meters per gram (by comparison, one gram of sand has a surface area of approximately 3 square inches - less than1/20,000th of that of a gram of nanoparticles!). Many benefits are realized due to this effect, and the potential of nanocatalysis to benefit mankind is nothing less than enormous, but unfortunately, there is a 'catch 22': When we use these particles to promote a chemical reaction or to effect sorption, we must make sure that we're exploiting most or all of their surface area, or their core benefit is lost. These particles, however, are so small that they cannot easily be 'immobilized' (kept out of solution) when fully exposed to the reactant or solute stream (a liquid or gas), so in research labs across the globe, they are studied and used in-situ (in solution) by simply adding them to a container of the 'matrix' (the fluid which carries the reactants or solutes to be sorbed) and letting the reaction occur. But once in solution (especially in a liquid), they are very difficult (and expensive) to remove, especially with 100% certainty: the particles themselves are so small (often the size of large molecules) that they now become pollutants in the very stream they were employed to improve (by catalyzing a reaction or sorbing a species)! Moreover, many nano- and micro- particles can have serious consequences if allowed to remain in any product which comes into contact with living organisms, so anything less than 100% perfect removal is often unacceptable. Therefore, it has become desirable to 'immobilize' these micro- and nano-size particles without incurring expenses so large as to render the process uneconomical. This means exposing them to the reactant matrix such that (1)all their surface area is in contact with the matrix (2) their support does not significantly impede the matrix' flow over their individual surfaces, and (3) the cost of the technique used to support them is not prohibitive. Unfortunately, this has proven to be an illusive goal, and for years now, despite intensive research and development of dozens of elaborate and uneconomical immobilization schemes, this 'catch 22' has stymied all attempts at developing a viable High Efficiency Immobilization technology, largely relegating these highly effective catalysts to the laboratory and preventing their use for any real-world benefit. Until Now. HENSI is the ONLY technology which can bring nano- and micro-structures out of the lab and into economical service in large-scale, real-world CPI applications. Why? How? HENSI alone makes possible ex-situ nano-or micro- catalysis, surface- functionalization or sorption unit operations with the 5 attributes needed for commercial viability |
Five Attributes Necessary for Commercial Viability of a Large-scale Nano-Structure Immobilization System
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| The 2-Minute HENSI Story NOTE: This page is a concise introduction to HENSI. It quickly introduces the reader to the main concepts, applications, issues and challenges regarding nanocatalyst immobilization. An example of an HENSI application scenario, various documents detailing HENSI capabilities, and the engineering features of HENSI which support the above claim can all be found on the HENSI Information page (link at left) |
What is HENSI? H.E.N.S.I. stands for High Efficiency Nano (& micro) Structure Immobilization. HENSI Dispersed Nano- (or micro-)Particle Bed™ (HENSI DNPB) reactors are the KEY which unlocks the Awesome Potential of Nano- & Micro- Structures for Catalysis, Sorption, Functionalization-Recovery, and related Processing Applications HENSI DNPB Reactors are a new genre of continuous- or batch- operation chemical reactors (or sorption units), scaleable to any size. Within each cubic inch of every HENSI Dispersed Nano-Particle Bed™ Reactor, ~50x1015 nano-structures are easily homogeneously dispersed and immobilized: spread-out / distributed evenly and individually (‘agglomeration is actually overcome by the HENSI effect’) throughout the entirety of the cylindrical reaction zone and held-in-place regardless of the flow rate of the liquid (or gas) flowing through the particle dispersion. Intra-particle distances range from approximately 1/10th of a diameter (nearly close-packed) up to any value desired. Regardless, however, of the particle ‘packing density’ at which the DNPB columns are operated, the catalysis affected is fully heterogeneous: each nano- or micro-sized particle / structure is completely and equally exposed to any (flowing or static) fluid matrix (e.g. for catalysis, sorption, functionalization etc.) without ever being introduced into solution in whatever fluid flows through the column. As a side effect of this unique technology, HENSI DNPB reactors also produce an unprecedented degree of “static-mixing effect”, resulting in fully-developed turbulent / ‘plug-shaped’ flow profile, enhancing the speed and completeness of any reaction even further -- the key to maximizing conversion in a flow-through reactor vessel -- at flowrates about 1/10th that required in conventional packed-bed reactors. This means that for any given required system throughput, HENSI reactor columns can achieve the required catalytic conversion to product with process equipment often several orders of magnitude smaller than that required by conventional means such as packed-bed or fluidized-be reactor columns. Of course, capital and operating costs decrease commensurately. Moreover, with the HENSI DPB, the entire population of catalytic particles (often exceeding 1016 per cubic inch of reactor volume) can be released into a side-stream, recovered (or replaced) and re-charged to the HENSI reactor, at will, in minutes – automatically, remotely and safely. HENSI Nano-Dispersed-Bed Technology shatters the bonds of size, allowing us to bring micro- and nano-sized structures of many kinds into the most intimate contact possible with nearly any fluid (stream or batch), at particle-count densities on the order of 5 x 10exp17 nano-structures per cubic inch of contactor/reactor volume*, and thus exploit the astounding transport-phenomena efficiencies inherent to micro- and nano-structures, without ever introducing the structures themselves into solution in the process fluid! Moreover, in an HENSI reactor, the multitude of particles are homogeneously distributed throughout the entire volume of the column and completely exposed to fluids (e.g. Nearly 100% of each particle's surface area is available for catalysis, sorption, surface- functionalization, etc.) at virtually any 'Loading Density Coefficient' (Volume Catalyst/Volume Reactor) desired Another notable attribute of HENSI is it's reversibility: at any time subsequent to immobilization (and presumably, processing), the process flow can be 'valved out' via a standard ISO or 3-way valve, and the entire population of micro- or nano-structures can be released from the HENSI reactor and recovered at will into a side stream (again of any desired fluid) for regeneration, sale, replacement, etc. ! Rejoice! The days of expensive and tedious post-processing removal nano-structures or particles from product- solution are over! * for structures under ~100 nm M.E.D. - larger particles, of course, achieve commensurately lower loading densities |
| H.E.N.S.I. Dispersed Nano- (& micro-) Particle Bed reactors: A New Technology; A New Ch.E. Unit Operation; a New Era |
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| Some Common Nano-Structures |
Fundamentally different than any other small-particle immobilization techniques, HENSI cost-efficiently and
completely immobilizes nano- and micro-sized particles (or structures) in an homogeneous and ultra-dense
3-D distribution, even against very high reactant-fluid fluxes, regardless of particle shape, size or
morphology. HENSI exposes nearly 100% of each particle's surface to the fluid flow / reactant matrix without
ever actually releasing or introducing the particles into solution. As such, fully-scalable HENSI allows nano-
and micro- catalysts to be employed in a 'packed-bed' reactor design, with all the process engineering
advantages thereof, including:
Because HENSI technology is not plagued by the technical (and resulting financial) drawbacks associated
with today's less efficient immobilization schemes, only HENSI technology immobilizes enough nano (or
micro) catalyst particles per unit reactor volume to fully exploit the ultra-high surface area per unit mass of
these highly effective (often catalytic) structures on a commercial-process scale. This affords HENSI an
ideal synergy with the advent of nano- and micro-structure engineering, nano- and micro-catalyzed
chemical reactions, and environmental remediation processes.
The true power of nano-catalysis has finally been unleashed: Nanocatalysis can now be employed in high-
throughput applications to achieve complete conversion of even the most dilute reactant solute in ultra-
low residence times
HENSI features very low capital and operating costs, operates at ambient P & T, requires no chemicals,
uses little power, and can be scaled & modularly configured to address the complete spectrum of (1)
required reaction conversion and (2) required system throughput of any nano- or micro-catalyzed reaction
application
completely immobilizes nano- and micro-sized particles (or structures) in an homogeneous and ultra-dense
3-D distribution, even against very high reactant-fluid fluxes, regardless of particle shape, size or
morphology. HENSI exposes nearly 100% of each particle's surface to the fluid flow / reactant matrix without
ever actually releasing or introducing the particles into solution. As such, fully-scalable HENSI allows nano-
and micro- catalysts to be employed in a 'packed-bed' reactor design, with all the process engineering
advantages thereof, including:
- · Maximized mass-transport rates (resulting in extremely high reaction kinetic rates)
- · Maximized heat transport rates
- · Natural static mixing effect with no significant pressure drop, even at high fluxes
- · Zero added particle surface coverage
- · No new wetted materials (most applications)
- · Complete or near-complete reversibility
- · Complete scale-ability and modularity
Because HENSI technology is not plagued by the technical (and resulting financial) drawbacks associated
with today's less efficient immobilization schemes, only HENSI technology immobilizes enough nano (or
micro) catalyst particles per unit reactor volume to fully exploit the ultra-high surface area per unit mass of
these highly effective (often catalytic) structures on a commercial-process scale. This affords HENSI an
ideal synergy with the advent of nano- and micro-structure engineering, nano- and micro-catalyzed
chemical reactions, and environmental remediation processes.
The true power of nano-catalysis has finally been unleashed: Nanocatalysis can now be employed in high-
throughput applications to achieve complete conversion of even the most dilute reactant solute in ultra-
low residence times
HENSI features very low capital and operating costs, operates at ambient P & T, requires no chemicals,
uses little power, and can be scaled & modularly configured to address the complete spectrum of (1)
required reaction conversion and (2) required system throughput of any nano- or micro-catalyzed reaction
application
| A New C-Series R&D Unit |
| HENSI R&D Model # C-17.4-A-A-20-5-10-HGA-M- SP500.24-B (Larger photo at bottom of page & more from hyperlinks below!) |
HENCI will usher in a new era in nanotechnology marked by the widespread commercial and industrial use of recently developed nano-
and micro-catalysts (to achieve the ultra-high reaction conversion rates on dilute reactants which only micro-and nano-catalysts can offer)
where the fluid dynamic and mass transport limitations inherent to scaling up small-particle catalysis for high throughput, high conversion
applications have so far precluded commercialization and as such is the ‘golden egg’ that nanocatalysis has been waiting for
and micro-catalysts (to achieve the ultra-high reaction conversion rates on dilute reactants which only micro-and nano-catalysts can offer)
where the fluid dynamic and mass transport limitations inherent to scaling up small-particle catalysis for high throughput, high conversion
applications have so far precluded commercialization and as such is the ‘golden egg’ that nanocatalysis has been waiting for