Technology

Application

The main field of application of micro chemical engineering is the process intensification in the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industry. Thereby significant improvements in product yield and quality can be reached. The use of micro chemical methods is particularly reasonable for the performance of reactions involving challenging conditions.

The occurrence of side products in complex reactions can be repressed, leading to yield improvement of the desired product, for instance. For explosive reactions as well as for conversions with toxic substances, microstructured devices provide a safe and efficient tool for process design. Since the recent initiation of micro chemical engineering a large amount of possible reactions for this technology has been presented.

Examples involve Wittig reactions, Aldol-condensations, Michael-additions, Azo-coupling, Halogenations, Oxidations and much more. Industrial processes like the Andrussow-process and the synthesis of ethylene oxide have already been carried out on laboratory scale as well.