Heterogeneous benzaldehyde nitration in batch and continuous flow microreactor

Ortho- and meta-nitrobenzaldehydes are two important intermediates in the chemical industry. They are the main products of benzaldehyde nitration by mixed acid, which is a hazardous chemical process since reaction rates are very sensitive to variations of the operating conditions. In the present investigation, a previously developed kinetic model under homogeneous conditions is validated and extended for heterogeneous liquid-liquid systems. A comparison between performances of a lab-scale batch reactor and a commercial microreactor is also presented. The results show that microreactors with embedded static mixer can outperform scaled-up batch reactors, achieving the theoretical limit of conversion/yield attainable under kinetic control.