Growing requirements and novel technologies require continuous research, and new innovative solutions. The companies of the EKATO GROUP have successfully taken on the challenges set forth by the industrial sector for more than 80 years and have developed into the world market leader.

EKATO Rühr- und Mischtechnik offers a state-of-the-art research and development center to design safe and highly efficient mixing process solutions. Modern, well-equipped lab facilities allow studying inter-relationships between mixing technologies and customer-specific processes.

The unique hydrogenation pilot plant offers optimal conditions in an explosion-proof laboratory to investigate the interaction of chemistry and mixing technology at realistic operating conditions. This plant, which has been designed and built entirely by the EKATO engineering group, consists of a hydrogenation reactor with a volume of 60 liters, a feed vessel, a filtration unit as well as a filtrate vessel. The reactor can be operated under process conditions of up to 100 bar and 250° Celsius. Findings gained in this pilot plant allow EKATO to scale-up and ensure the operationally reliable design of a real production plant.

The results of the hydrogenation tests are examined by sampling and analysis in the EKATO laboratory. This allows the evaluation of the optimized parameters and thus ensures a successful process result.

EKATO offers state-of-the-art measurement techniques in various laboratories. Latest fluid- and gas chromatography equipment form the backbone of the quantitative analysis of the pilot test results. In addition to the purely chemical analysis, physical product properties, such as, particle shape and size distribution or viscosity of a product to be mixed have to be characterized. It effects not only the power consumption of the agitator, but also the mixing behavior, the dispersion performance and the heat transfer capacity depend to a great extent on the viscosity. Smaller model systems can also be used to carry out a simple and fast comparison of different agitator setups and apparatus concepts for different applications.

Furthermore EKATO uses state-of-the-art production processes such as the 3D manufacturing of impeller prototypes. Tests in the 50 liter scale are often used to develop solutions for demanding mixing tasks as for highly viscous or rheologically complex fluids, both with original products as well as with model substances.

Numerical simulation methods such as CFD are an integral part of the R&D portfolio. This allows for an accurate insight into the flow conditions in a vessel. The customer configuration is precisely reproduced unlimited by size. This makes it possible to reliably predict the efficiency of complex tank internal installations. In addition to calculated designs, experiments provide supplemental information on the interaction of flow mechanics and material properties. With possible test sizes from 3 liters up to 100 m³, process related and mechanical measurements can be carried out very close to reality, in particular to full-scale. The determination of hydraulic forces induced by impeller flows is a central task of EKATO R&D.

The safe design of vessels and its internals as well as the development of new impeller types is based on measurements with strain gauges close to realistic operating conditions. Besides the process engineering expertise, it is also vital to produce a mechanically robust, highly reliable and durable product "made in Germany".

In analogy to the visualization of mixing processes within vessels, the finite element analysis provides insights into mechanical loads on agitators, vessels and the associated components.

In addition to the classical solutions where agitators are mounted from the top EKATO also offers special solutions, such as side entry installations, as applied for example for the flue gas desulphurization process. Also for hydrometallurgical applications, test units are available in different model scales. Thus, for example, an optimal residence time distribution of added products can be ensured. Alongside with a robust, long-lasting design of the agitator, the service life of the impeller itself often is an important issue. A geometrical optimization of the impeller or the selection of a suitable material allows for reduced wear in abrasive media. Here, massive ceramic components provide a way to the future!

The performance of research and development is based on a very experienced and established team with an excellent expertise in state-of-the-art technology and process solutions. Chemists, engineers and technicians are developing the solutions that ensure maximum efficiency and operational reliability for the plant operator.

EKATO Research & Development

EKATO has recently opened a new hydrogenation pilot plant; the EKATO Hydrogenation Test Center is located at our headquarters in Schopfheim, Germany. The Research Center was established within a year with an investment expenditure of €2 million.
       EKATO 一套新建的氢化试验装置最近投入使用。该试验装置建于德国绍普芬海姆的集团总部， 建设过程耗时约一年、化费二百万欧元。

The centrepiece of the EKATO Hydrogenation Test Center is a hydrogenation reactor made of Alloy C22, which has a filling volume of 60 l. This can be operated up to 100 bar and 250°C. The flexible concept of the hydrogenation unit allows the realistic simulation of an industrial hydrogenation process in a pilot scale – from catalyst handling to the actual hydrogenation reaction to catalyst separation. Additional hydrogenation reactors with effective volumes of 3 l complement the experimental possibilities and allow scalable product and process parameters to be determined – even with small product quantities.
       该试验装置的核心是由C22合金制造的氢化反应器， 加料体积60L, 可工作于100 bar, 250 °C范围内。氢化单元灵活性的概念允许对现实中工业级的氢化工艺进行试验装置规模的真实模拟，从催化剂的处理到实际的氢化反应和催化剂的分离。我们有其它的有效容积3 L氢化反应器可提供实验用于确定工艺放大的产品和参数----仅用少量的产品。 
“The requirements of our customers have changed considerably in recent years. If we want to continue getting orders, we can only do so with a convincing overall concept”, said Werner Himmelsbach, Head of Research & Development at EKATO Rühr- und Mischtechnik GmbH, during the commissioning. “Concrete and binding statements on costs, productivity, and product quality are decisive success factors. To this end, we have to test the hydrogenation processes of our customers, which are often only examined in a laboratory scale, under realistic conditions in a pilot scale. The new EKATO ‘Hydrogenation Testing Center’ offers exactly these possibilities and is the link between sales, research & development, and engineering”.
      “我们客户的各种要求近年来有了很大的变化，如果想要与客户持续地合作， 我们只能以令人信服的整体概念为客户提供服务” ，Werner Himmelsbach 先生在该装置试运转时这样说， 他是EKATO RMT研究和开发部的部长， 他还说：“成本、产出率和产品质量作为一个整体来向客户保证是成功的决定因素， 为了达到这个目的， 我们必须针对我们客户的氢化工艺进行试验， 这些试验通常是在实验室规模进行研究，在现实条件下可以在中试装置上进行。EKATO新的氢化试验中心提供了试验的可能性，该试验装置将销售、研发和工程化进行了很好的结合”。
EKATO has been active in the field of hydrogenation for more than 80 years and offers a comprehensive product and service portfolio for hydrogenation with more than 500 active references. EKATO combines testing technology, scale-up, and plant design as well as the mechanical design, detailed engineering, and the production of critical system components all in one.
       EKATO在氢化领域开展业务已有80多年的历史， 为氢化行业提供了大量的产品和服务， 有500多家客户的业绩。EKATO将测试技术、工程放大和装置设计以及机械设计、详细工程设计和关键系统单元的生产各方面结合在一起（进行研究、设计和制造）。