Process intensification in green synthesis

Abstract

In the past few decades there has been an extensive increase in the research for green synthesis processes due to environmental concerns, industrial safety and sustainable development, which makes it an attractive alternative to the conventional synthesis processes. The interest of researchers in the green synthesis processes highlights the importance of understanding the mechanism and the fundamental differences between the different processes. The number of publications in the fi eld of " Green Synthesis " in journals, proceedings, patents, etc. has increased by almost 20 times from 2001 to 2010. The published reports are mainly concerned with green synthesis with catalytic processes, less harmful solvents and process intensifi ed techniques. In the present article, the technological development efforts in the area of green synthesis are summarized. Various techniques for green synthesis process intensifi cation are discussed, e.g., mixers, microreactors, spin disc reactor, oscillated fl ow reactors, microwave irradiation, ultrasonication, multifunctional membranes and coiled fl ow inverter. The applications of green synthesis processes for biofuel, nanoparticle, ionic liquids and pharmaceutical production are also discussed.

Process intensification in gas-to-liquid reactions: plasma promoted Fischer-Tropsch synthesis for hydrocarbons at low temperatures and ambient pressure

“…In the first instance, such a small scale but sustainable technology can be achieved by using PI [41][42][43][44]. Further sustainability can be gained by IPI [45][46][47][48], in which intensified unit operations are integrated within the production plant as well as on a global scale so as to have a totally holistic process necessary to combat global warming.…”

“…PI represents a new process synthesis philosophy based on the understanding of momentum, heat and mass transfer operations in confined spaces ranging from millimetreto-nanometre taking into account multiple-interactions Brought to you by | New York University Bobst Library Technical Services Authenticated Download Date | 6/17/15 2:03 PM between reactants, products, catalysts, reactor and thermodynamic and processing conditions. PI can be achieved in several ways, including through micro-reactor technology [41][42][43][44] or the use of a suitable PI-intensification field (such as electric or radiation field) or by reducing the diffusion path for reactants/products or by increasing the surface area for catalytic or adsorptive processes [43].…”

Advances in steady-state continuous-flow purification by small-scale free-flow electrophoresis

“…However, modern approaches to synthesis are being developed to minimize the use of organic solvents [95]. There are even micro-reactors that avoid organic solvents and perform chemical transformations at high temperatures and pressures in aqueous solvents [96].…”

The Beneficial Sinergy of MW Irradiation and Ionic Liquids in Catalysis of Organic Reactions

“…In addition, ILs were the object of a book that became a two-volume set after few years [4]. Since then, reviews appeared discussing several aspects of both microwave (MW) and ILs topics, separately (see, for example [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]) and together (for selected examples, see [12][13][14][15][16]). …”