Commercial Release of MBRs and CMRs

By mid-1995, only 220 papers had been published on microwave-assisted organic chemistry [15]. Until then the vast majority of the papers had covered dry media reactions and for approximately the next five years this trend continued. By the turn of the 21st Century, however, the applicability of dedicated microwave reactors and associated chemistry had stimulated other researchers and encouraged commercial manufacturers to construct systems for laboratory and pilot-scale studies [13, 14]. 

Researchers in synthetic chemistry, particularly those engaged in bioactive compound discovery, tend to work with reaction volumes in the range 0.1-10 mL. Commercial CMR may be used for process optimization, small scale manufacture for pilot-scale studies, or to produce high-value and low-volume chemical compounds. Typical throughputs are up to 100 mL min k 

Temperature and pressure limits vary according to manufacturers specifications and usually depend on the physical and chemical properties of materials employed in the construction of reaction vessels. In batch systems the recommended upper temperature is usually between 200 °C (vessels fabricated from polymeric materials such as PTFE, for example) and 300 °C (quartz vessels). Most commercial 

From the foregoing discussion, the technology for microwave-assisted organic synthesis with organic solvents (under pressure if necessary) is now employed extensively and routinely in chemical discovery, organic synthesis, and medicinal chemistry [16, 17]. Microwave reactors have found niche applications in the production of intermediates, flavors and fragrances, specialty chemicals, and pilot-scale manufacture. Units capable of parallel or sequential operation, some of which may be operated robotically and remotely, are employed around the clock in industrial chemical discovery. 

not only these microwave systems can generate reaction times that are orders of magnitude shorter than those obtained by traditional methods, but through automation they can considerably extend the working day for synthetic chemists on the basis of time alone. 

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