Spinning disc technology for intensified continuous flow processing: An overview of recent progress and future prospects

Abstract

Continuous thin film flow on a spinning disc has attracted much attention for its enhanced mass and heat transfer, very short, controllable residence times and its ability to intensify fast, exothermic reactions. This perspective paper presents recent advancements in the spinning disc technology, focusing on more detailed film flow and mixing characterisation and quantifying key parameters such as micromixing and residence time distribution. Reactive-precipitation, polymerisations and organometallic reactions are some of the applications that have been extensively studied on the spinning disc. Application to areas of significant interest to net-zero carbon emissions such as biotechnology and biomass/biorefinery industries have most recently also demonstrated performance enhancements compared to traditional, non-intensified processes. Although several challenges remain to be overcome, future prospects of spinning disc technology are promising. The development of advanced designs of multiple stages incorporating ‘green’ electrified energy input and novel disc architectures, such as 3D printed structured and porous surfaces, to further enhance mixing, transport properties and reaction kinetics are some of the exciting prospects. The spinning disc technology also holds much promise for the less well-studied photo-activated reactions, where its dynamic thin film characteristics offer significant potentials for efficient light penetration in photocatalytic synthesis processes.