No abstract

A continuous microreaction process was set up to analyze and improve the "green" synthesis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) based oil the HCl-catalyzed dehydration of fructose in pure aqueous solutions. The process conditions were deliberately shifted to high temperatures and pressures (185 degrees C, 17 bar) and combined with a reduced reaction time of only 1 min to avoid extensive rehydration of the product. 5-HMF was obtained with 75 % selectivity and 54 % yield at 71 % fructose conversion. In comparison to published data, a 24 % increase in selectivity and a 21 % increase in conversion could be achieved. Moreover, by adding organic co-solvents and extraction agents to the reaction system, both 5-HMF selectivity and yield could be further enhanced to 85 and 82 %, respectively. However, the use of additional organic solvents cannot be considered as a green process anymore

No abstract

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) beads based on acrylate formulations have been successfully synthesized in two different types of microreactors capable of generating spherical prepolymer droplets of controlled size in continuous segmented flow processes. After polymerizing and curing the droplets monodisperse acrylate particles have been obtained. Particle sizes have been adjusted in a wide range from 10 to 140 µm by choosing appropriate flow rates of the continuous and the disperse phase. By adding trinitrotoluene (TNT) as a template and PEG as a coporogen to the disperse phase MIP beads with TNT-selective sites and a sufficiently high porosity have been synthesized, as required, for explosive detection techniques.

No abstract