Microreactors assisted processing

Figure 5.33 Temperature diagram of the microreactor assisted processing (by courtesy of Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH) [67],...

Many microreactors are at the research level but a few are already commercially available. Microwave-assisted flow processing in microreactors (MAFP) [93] or radiofrequency-heated flow reactors [94,95] are promising alternatives for conventionally heated, multistep production of fine chemicals in batch reactors. Realization of MAFP at an industrial scale requires a proper design of multitubular reactors integrated with microwave heating [96]. 

W/o microemulsions have been used for many years as microreactors for the synthesis of ultrafine metallic particles [78, 79]. Since the pioneer works of Boutonnet et al. [80], who studied the production of colloidal Pt, Pd, Rh, and Ir particles by hydrogen or hydrazine (N2H4) reduction in w/o microemulsions, many studies have been made on the synthesis of this type of material. A reverse micelle (microemulsion) method, as a kind of soft technique, is a suitable way for obtaining the uniform and size controllable nanoparticles. The droplet dimension was modulated by various parameters, in particular W [81]. Some studies indicated that with the assistant of cosurfactant, the size of nanoparticles prepared in quaternary reverse micelle system is more controllable [82]. For example, compared with the anionic (AOT) ternary reverse micelle system, the droplet dimension of the quaternary cationic (cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide, CTAB) reverse micelles can be elaborately adjusted by changing W with the additional modulation of cosurfactant at the interface of water and oil. The microstmcture and djmamic exchange process are dominated by the influence of cosuifactant on the curvature radius and interface rigidity of the droplets in the quaternary reverse miceUe [82]. 

Minrath, I., Beck, M., Pitton, D., Zankl, F., Loewe, H. p - Microwave assisted microreactor processing synthesis of ionic liquids. Proceedings of the "KPh International Conference on Microreaction Technology, IMRET10", 06 -10 Apa-il, 2008, New Orleans, LU. 

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