Symyx Unveils new Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor

Symyx Technologies, Inc. has announced global availability of the Symyx Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor, a high-throughput system capable of screening and optimizing catalysts and processes.

The Symyx Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor can be used in a variety of traditional applications within petrochemicals and refining, in addition to emerging areas such as biofuels and other biorenewable processes.

“We’ve had the privilege of using an early prototype of the Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor from Symyx Technologies at the Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo (IMP) Combinatorial Catalysis Laboratory,” said Dr. J.A. Montoya, Director of the Combinatorial Catalysis Laboratory at IMP.

Dr. Montoya added, “The Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor has been successfully applied for a series of R&D projects in petrochemical and refining areas. Thousands of experiments have been performed using this workflow and we have found the equipment to be robust, versatile and easy-to-use. Most importantly, the Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor has achieved a very high level of throughput for catalyst development and optimization.”

The Symyx Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor provides data consistent with traditional laboratory-scale fixed-bed setups for gas, liquid and trickle-phase processes, and can be used effectively as a “pre-screen” for catalyst batches slated for use in pilot plants and manufacturing.

Rather than automating and synchronizing current lab equipment, the Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor is a step-change in R&D technology to provide business results in the mature fields of refining and petrochemicals as well as in emerging areas such as biofeedstock and biofuel applications, where time-to-market for processes is critical.

In addition, the Symyx Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor offers:

• Increased breadth of study allowing for the selection of more optimal catalysts and process conditions – scientists and researchers will be able to test more catalysts under real-world conditions and see trends and impacts otherwise hidden.

• On-line sampling and analytics allowing for seamless acquisition and databasing of catalytic results, giving researchers enterprise-wide access in near real-time as data from the system becomes available.

• Full integration capacity with catalyst synthesis equipment allowing for full correlation of catalytic phenomenon to synthesis parameters within the Symyx software environment.

The Symyx Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor is available immediately and can be delivered to customers as a stand-alone Symyx Tool (16, 32 or 48 reactor channels) or as part of a Symyx Tools Integrated Workflow.

Symyx can also run experiments for targeted catalyst and process optimization problems on the Parallel Fixed Bed Reactor on behalf of a customer at Symyx Labs through Symyx Research Services.