A miniature CSTR cascade for continuous flow of reactions containing solids

Continuous handling of solids creates challenges for realizing continuous production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. We present a new miniature continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) cascade to handle solid-forming reactions in flow. Single-phase residence time distribution (RTD) measurements...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mo, Yiming, Jensen, Klavs F
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Royal Society of Chemistry, The 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/109210
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7031-1133
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7192-580X
Description
Summary:Continuous handling of solids creates challenges for realizing continuous production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. We present a new miniature continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) cascade to handle solid-forming reactions in flow. Single-phase residence time distribution (RTD) measurements of the CSTR cascade reveal nearly ideal CSTR mixing behavior of the individual units. Consistency of experimental and predicted conversions of a Diels–Alder reaction further confirms the CSTR performance. Two solid-forming reactions, (i) glyoxal reacting with cyclohexylamine to form N,N′-dicyclohexylethylenediimine, (ii) sulfonylation of 2-octanol with methanesulfonyl chloride, demonstrate the ability of the reactor cascade to transport solid particles continuously for hours without significant signs of clogging.