Continuous Chemistry

Continuous processing, or flow chemistry is an alternative approach to achieving chemical synthesis by bringing reactive components together in a continuous reactor while simultaneously avoiding a high concentration of reagents in the presence of the product formed. A continuous processing approach to cross-coupling can be particularly beneficial when one of the coupling partners is unstable under batch processing reaction conditions. The high thermal transfer rates and precision residence time control of plug flow reactor reactors compared to batch reactors minimizes the time spent under conditions of instability. One attractive feature of continuous processes is the ability to superheat solvents under pressure to access more extreme conditions and afford the uninterrupted delivery of product. Continuous processes using biocatalysis is industrially valuable because the merge of both important technologies brings in unique opportunities to make biocatalyic reactions more viable for scale up.