Organic Chemistry in Microreactors

Microreactor processing for the aqueous Kolbe-Schmitt synthesis of hydroquinone and phloroglucinol

Hydroquinone and phloroglucinol were used as substrates for the aqueous Kolbe-Schmitt synthesis, using a novel processing methodology, termed high-p,T processing, recently demonstrated for the carboxylation of resorcinol. By the high-p,T approach, the temperature limitations of classical batch synthesis, e.g., set by reflux conditions (solvent boiling point), can be overcome by simple technical expenditure, e.g., the use of a few microstructured components, a capillary, and a needle valve at very low internal holdup. In this way, favorable speed-up of chemical reaction is achieved at temperatures normally outside the useful range for organic synthesis. While the hydroquinone synthesis gave …

Industrial Microreactor Process Development up to Production

This chapter is about industrial applications of microprocess technology. Industry is not very active in publishing not only because of confidentiality reasons but also because of the absence of direct need for a corresponding profile. Thus, one cannot expect that the ongoing developments can be shown with a similar degree of completeness, clarity and detailedness, as this is possible for reviewing scientific contributions from academy with a wealth of peer-reviewed papers. Especially, the information of major interest of what has been transferred to production and how do the companies make profit with the new technology is usually kept secret. Thus, it has to be accepted that some informat…