Semicontinuous processes General

In the Bnchamp process, nitro compounds are reduced to amines in the presence of iron and an acid. This is the oldest commercial process for preparing amines, but in more recent years it has been largely replaced by catalytic hydrogenation. Nevertheless, the Bnchamp reduction is still used in the dyestuff industry for the production of small volume amines and for the manufacture of iron oxide pigments aniline is produced as a by-product. The Bnchamp reduction is generally mn as a batch process however, it can also be mn as a continuous (48) or semicontinuous process (49). 

The filter medium may be precoated by placing the precoat solution in the immersion tank before being replaced by the process slurry. Generally precoated filters must operate on a semicontinuous basis because after a period of time the precoat layer will deteriorate and must be replaced. Filters without a precoat can be operated continuously. 

Gas antisolvent processes can be performed in a semicontinuous mode. In this case the solution and the antisolvent are continuously introduced in the system until the desired amount of the product is formed. The introduction of the solution is then stopped and the DG flux extracts the residual solvent from the system. The system is then depressurized to enable collection of the product. The solution is generally introduced through an atomization nozzle that favors the prompt expansion of the solution and the formation of small particles. Different process configurations have been utilized, i.e., co- and countercurrent introduction of the solution and antisolvent fluxes and various nozzles have been designed. The process is referred to by different acronyms such as ASES (aerosol solvent extraction system), SAS (supercritical antisolvent), SEDS (solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluids), PCA (precipitation with a compressed fluid antisolvent), GASR (gas antisolvent recrystallization), GASP (gas antisolvent precipitation). 

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