Reactors for Organic Chemical Syntheses

Summary

In the laboratory, organic syntheses are often carried out under conditions of low reaction rates and high yields. For technical applications, high reaction rates and high selectivities are of primary importance. In this chapter a number of cases will be presented that are typical for various types of organic syntheses. In order to illustrate which factors are important and which are not, some numerical examples are given. Examples of single phase reactions include relatively slow reactions in semi-batch reactors; continuous reactors for incomplete conversions; and very rapid reactions in stirred reactors (either continuous or semi-batchwise). Examples for two-phase reactions include slow and rapid gas/liquid reactions, liquid/liquid and solid/liquid reactions.