Modular LED Photoreactor for Batch and Continuous Reactions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current photoreactor systems for photoredox catalysis are associated with high investment costs and limited availability, making them inaccessible to many laboratories, and lack flexibility in adapting to individual requirements.
Innovation Solution
A photoreactor system featuring a sleeve-like base body with detachable LED lighting elements and a free space for various reaction vessels, utilizing a bayonet locking mechanism and compressed air cooling, allowing for interchangeable reaction vessels and LED arrays, and enabling both batch and continuous reactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If photoreactors are designed with permanently installed LED lighting fixtures and reaction vessels, then the structural stability is improved, but the adaptability to individual requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The photoreactor is divided into modular components: a base body with permanently installed LED lighting fixtures, and separate holding elements that can be attached or detached. This segmentation allows the stable base structure to remain fixed while the reaction vessels can be changed by replacing holding elements, thus resolving the contradiction between structural stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding elements are designed to be dynamically attachable and detachable from the base body, allowing the system to transition between different configurations. This dynamic design enables users to adapt the photoreactor to different experimental requirements while maintaining the stable base structure with LED lighting fixtures.
2Manufacturing precision
If specialized photoreactor equipment is designed with fixed components, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the ease of manufacture and cost-effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the photoreactor into a base body and separate holding elements, the manufacturing complexity is distributed. The base body can be manufactured with high precision for the LED lighting fixtures, while the simpler holding elements can be produced more economically, improving overall ease of manufacture without sacrificing manufacturing precision of critical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The base body with LED lighting fixtures serves as a universal platform that can support multiple types of holding elements and reaction vessels. This multi-functionality allows a single base body design to be used across different applications, improving ease of manufacture through component standardization while maintaining manufacturing precision for the critical lighting and reaction components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If photoreactors are designed to support both batch and continuous reactions, then the versatility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic attachability of holding elements allows the same base body to be configured for different reaction types. For batch reactions, holding elements for static reaction vessels are attached; for continuous reactions, holding elements for flow-through vessels are used. This dynamic reconfiguration enables versatility without requiring separate dedicated systems, thus avoiding increased device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The base body with LED lighting fixtures is designed as a universal platform that can accommodate multiple types of holding elements for different reaction modes. This multi-functionality allows a single device to perform both batch and continuous reactions, improving versatility while avoiding the complexity of maintaining separate specialized systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides a cost-effective, adaptable, and portable photoreactor that can be easily customized for different reactions, facilitating both batch and continuous processes, thus making advanced photoredox catalysis accessible to a wider range of laboratories.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of LED lighting elements which are arranged on the inner circumference of the sleeve-like base body around the axis
Implementation Method 2
the photoreactor has a cooling device for the LED lighting fixtures with cooling channels for a cooling fluid of the cooling device formed in the sleeve-like base body
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
Photoreactor (10) for radiation-induced reactions in a medium, comprising a sleeve-like base body (14) extending along an axis (12), a plurality of LED light sources (24) arranged circumferentially around the axis (12) on the inner circumference (26) of the sleeve-like base body (14), and a free space (28) circumferentially surrounded by the LED light sources (24) for at least one reaction vessel (30) for statically receiving the medium and/or for dynamically guiding the medium. The photoreactor (10) is provided to have a retaining element (36) detachably attachable to one end (16) of the base body (14) for holding the at least one reaction vessel (30) within the free space (28). The invention further relates to a corresponding photoreactor system with such a photoreactor (10).