Dibal-H reduction of methyl butyrate into butyraldehyde using microreactors

The reduction of methyl butyrate into butyraldehyde with Dibal-H in microreactors is described. Running the reaction continuously in a microreactor afforded results similar to those of batch experiments, but very low temperatures are not necessary and the reaction may be scaled-up without selectivity decrease. Different microreactors were used, and their mixing performances were compared. Increasing the reaction concentration and thus the throughput showed that even when working with microreactors, heat management should not be underestimated. Multi-injection was tested as a way to better control the temperature at the mixing point(s).