Electric field assisted processing of materials for continuous production technology

The UK industrial strategy has identified fuel switching to electrical processes as a fundamental building block to maintain manufacturing in the UK and reduce emissions. Climate change legislation has set a deadline for the UK to be carbon neutral by 2050 and this will require the reinvention of a huge number of industrial manufacturing processes across a wide range of sectors.

The shift to electricity as the energy vector allowing transition away from fossil fuels has many advantages reducing both emissions and increasing flexibility of supply providing stability for UK industry. Additionally in many applications using electrical energy can have other advantages such as reduced start-up time and increased production flexibility, which have been overlooked as energy costs drive production process design.

The technical approach is based on the exploration of the theme of electric field effects on materials and processes. There are existing pieces of equipment at C-Tech Innovation Ltd that will form the basis of the work program and allow the development of novel experimental rigs to explore and characterise the effects observed over a number of studies. These include electric field assisted kiln technology, continuous flow microwave chemistry equipment, and atmospheric non equilibrium plasma.
The effects of electric field on each of these areas have been observed and characterised both in the published literature and also in over 35 years of internal research reports undertaken at C-Tech Innovation and predecessor organisations in projects performed for a wide range of customers.

It is expected that the development of a more complete understanding of the mechanisms and interactions will lead to an opportunity to create new applications for the use of electric fields in processes. The use of combined frequencies to generate specific effects or the interaction with pressure and temperature regimes will lead the company forward. The overall technical plan for the company will come out of this work setting in motion developments that will become core technologies after 2030 and lead to sustainable business model moving forwards.

The technical elements will be aligned with a second stream of business focused development that will aid both the development of the fellow and the planning of the technical development work stream. The challenge for all businesses will be managing a transition to a low carbon industry in the decade 2030-2040 which will create disruptive influences in the type location and structure of industry . The integration of specific technology in to commercially planning require both strategic scenarios and detailed total cost of ownership modelling.
The work will include reviews of industrial and economic trends in manufacturing which will be developed through cross sector interview and workshops. The aim will be to engage a cross section of stakeholders and move through a structured evidence gathering and sharing process to highlight the technical, policy and strategic issues to be addressed.

C-Tech Innovation Ltd is an ISO 9001:2015 certified organisation and we have a detailed project management process suited to our area of bespoke special purpose machinery building and testing. We work with chemical, pharmaceutical, food, engineering, nuclear and other companies around the world. We have collaborated with hundreds of leading universities around the world and continue to do so on innovative projects.

The UK Government has identified fuel switching from fossil fuels to electrical processes as a necessary change if significant manufacturing is to be retained in the UK and emissions targets met. Climate change legislation requires the UK to be carbon neutral by 2050 and this will require the reinvention of a great many industrial manufacturing processes across all sectors. Business and industry accounts for 25% of UK energy consumption and the government's Clean Growth Strategy targets a 20% reduction in this by 2030. This imperative for change presents a challenge to researchers and companies to develop the new process technologies required.

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy commissioned a study on the UK capability to implement fuel switching in high energy demand applications which highlighted the significant additional costs involved: the 35 million tonnes p.a. of carbon emissions that can be avoided by 2040 is forecast to result in additional costs of £3.2 billion, emphasising the need for new technology. These considerations apply not just the UK but everywhere so that the market for new electrical process technologies will be world-wide.

The shift to electricity as the energy vector allowing transition away from fossil fuels has many advantages reducing both emissions and increasing flexibility of supply providing stability for UK industry. Additionally in many applications using electrical energy can have other advantages such as reduced start-up time, increased production flexibility and reduced footprint which have been overlooked due to a reliance on fossil fuel energy sources which currently have a lower cost input.

Increasing process efficiency reduces the total energy demand for the electricity n this transition reducing the economic burden of the transition to electrically powered industry and therefore enabling a more effective and seamless shift to a sustainable manufacturing base in the UK.

This programme will have a major impact on the company, on the uptake of new process technology with attendant economic and environmental benefits, and on the development of science and technology policy in the UK. It is an ambitious plan for the company and the individual and is part of the transformation of the company under its five year business plan.
Increased Company Economic Activity.

This FLF programme will provide the scientific basis to develop a range of C-Plasma plasma reactors, improved variants of our C-Wave continuous flow microwave chemical reactor, and a new product that exploits the microwave assisted diffusion mechanism in the shape of a microwave assisted rotary kiln under our C-Joule range.

Improved Process Technology is not enough in isolation, and notwithstanding the imperative to reduce carbon emissions, business cases for the introduction of new processes must still be made. Commercial deployment of novel technology requires an engagement with users to understand requirements in detail and design new processes to fit. The development time frame for significant new technologies is many years and an essential pre-requisite is a rigorous scientific characterisation of the processes occurring. Without that basis of understanding it will be impossible to support the development of specific applications and innovation and competitive advantage will go elsewhere. This outputs of this work will be critical in developing a future client base around these new technologies.