This project represents a collaboration between the RAPID Module Manufacturing Focus Area (MMFA) and the Construction Industry Institute, within the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. The research objective is to model the total cost of ownership (TCO) for scaling up via modular chemical process intensification (MCPI) and apply this model to four RAPID projects over the remaining course of the effort.

A significant portion of commodity products are manufactured in large facilities that operate at steady state. In many ways, the traditional chemical industry has reached a plateau in terms of productivity and energy efficiency in such facilities. Improvements based on existing technologies and unit operations are mostly incremental and unable to address fundamental transport limitations that drive process efficiency.

This project will demonstrate conversion of a large-volume chemical commodities process from batch to continuous processing. It is focused to create an order of magnitude reduction in equipment size (and associated capital cost) by transitioning the traditionally batch production of dispersants, specifically succinimide dispersants, into a continuous process. Succinimide dispersants are a relatively large volume family of products that vary by molecular weight, and structure.