Continuous Flow Nitration of Benzaldehyde

Abstract

The nitration of benzaldehyde can be carried out in a safe manner in continuous mode using a microreactor system. Choice of a micromixer was seen to affect the performance of this two-phase reaction significantly. The reaction time could be brought down to 2 min by increasing the reaction temperature and thereby taking advantage of higher heat transfer area. The simple T-micromixer is seen to be inefficient for two-phase reactions. Further scope of process intensification is also discussed.