Performance of continuous micro photo reactor - comparison with batch process

Utilization of the flow chemistry as well as microreactors belongs to the latest trends in chemical engineering. Continuous microreactors of various kinds can be found in the literature, for example the micromixers, micro packed beds, or micro photo reactors. In order to evaluate the benefits of microtechnology application for the given process, the performance of a particular microreactor needs to be compared with the conventional setup. This contribution presents the performance of a continuous micro photo reactor in comparison with a batch process. Two model reactions were selected: the catalyzed photooxidation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) and the singlet oxygen chemical quencher 9,10-dimethylanthracene (DMA) in dimethylformamide. The tests were carried out using advanced optochemical apparatus with a well-defined light filter corresponding to the absorption bands of the used photo catalysts. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.