Institut für Mikroverfahrenstechnik (IMVT)

General information

The Institute of Micro Process Engineering at KIT (KIT-IMVT) is one of the world’s leading research institutions in the field of process intensification through miniaturization, internal structuring, process integration and modularization of process engineering equipment for applications in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries and for the production of synthetic chemicals.

The institute has great expertise in the design, production and testing of prototypes for compact structured multifunctional devices from laboratory to pilot scale. For many years, KIT-IMVT has also been involved in the application of catalysts in microstructured reactors, which includes the preparation of catalytically active materials and the development of coatings.

Important competencies, preliminary work and infrastructure

KIT-IMVT focuses on the decentralized production of PtX products in modular, load-flexible systems. The individual process steps for the manufacture of FT products were carried out together with partners (in particular INERATEC) as part of various projects on a laboratory and pilot plant scale and in some cases already in the PtL pilot plant in the Energy Lab 2.0.

In addition to the PtL pilot plant in the Energy Lab 2.0, which maps the entire process of producing renewable fuels from CO2 extraction from the ambient air to the FTS on a scale of 1-2 bpd, the KIT-IMVT has test facilities on a laboratory and pilot plant scale for the FTS and the subsequent processing steps such as hydroisomerization, hydrocracking and hydrogenation. Of particular importance here is the pilot plant for the processing of FT-Crude, which has a capacity of several liters per day. A suitable discontinuous distillation plant on a pilot plant scale is available at KIT for the distillative processing of FT products,

Expectation of progress through the project

The project also aims to work out how a 100% drop-in SAF based on the developed SPK and an aromatic fraction produced from the by-products can be produced decentrally from FTCrude in a simplified reprocessing process.