Apr 6 2009
Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) today announced that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will begin working with Corning's Advanced-Flow glass reactor in its chemical engineering research program. Corning's reactor has the ability to continuously and efficiently stream chemical reactants together, rather than mixing them in batches, thus enabling breakthroughs in manufacturing.
“We believe continuous manufacturing of chemicals and pharmaceuticals is an important trend for the advancement of the chemical processing industry. Continuous manufacturing provides significantly more efficient manufacturing and higher-purity products, both critical benefits. Additionally, these types of reactors enable new chemical pathways that in the past people could only dream about accomplishing in a production environment,” said Professor Klavs Jensen, chair of the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering.
"We are very excited that the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT will be using Corning's Advanced-Flow glass reactor technology in its leading-edge program," said Dr. Gary Calabrese, vice president, Science and Technology, Corning Incorporated. "Corning's reactor technology is now being readied for deployment in manufacturing locations around the world, which means that the MIT research can have a significant impact on the future of chemical manufacturing."
In addition to important research work, MIT may apply Corning’s Advanced-Flow glass reactor to its undergraduate teaching curriculum. “It is very important to give students an education that keeps up with the most important trends in technology. Corning has innovated for businesses, and we need to be equally innovative for our students,” Jensen noted.
Corning innovation, initially developed in the company’s microreactor technology program, is now bringing significant performance benefits to industrial chemical processing in the form of Corning’s Advanced-Flow glass reactor. A high-throughput, easily scalable reactor that can be customized to customers’ specific needs, the Advanced-Flow glass reactor enables a cost-effective solution for a single reaction or a wide portfolio of reactions. Corning’s proprietary reactor technology increases the efficiency, scalability, and quality of chemical processing — all while reducing environmental impact, performance variability, and cost.