Liquid-liquid microreactors for phase transfer catalysis

The research carried out within this thesis studied the hydrodynamics, reaction applications and scale-up of liquid-liquid microreactors. The liquid-liquid flow patterns in microchannels were evaluated in terms of stability, surface-to-volume ratio, achieved throughput and extraction efficiency. The research focused on the optimal flow patterns, the slug and bubbly flow. A liquid-liquid slug flow pressure drop model was developed and validated on examples of water-toluene and water/ethylene glycol-toluene slug flow. The fluidic control over the interfaces in a slug flow microreactor was employed to study a complex system of liquid-liquid phase transfer catalyzed alkylation of phenylacetonitrile. Last, a novel microstructured redispersion reactor was developed and tested on the example of phase transfer catalyzed esterification, allowing for significant increases in yield, process safety and waste reduction compared to the conventional process.