Organic syntheses carried out under continuous-flow conditions have been widely employed in industry because they can economically supply large quantities of a wide variety of chemicals used in manufacture. This book shows that flow processes have the advantage that operational difficulties can be easily controlled, demonstrating how chemical research can take care of both environmental protection and work safety. The book also shows how improved new processes under flow conditions can be achieved as a result of new organic reaction methods and by the introduction of new resistant supports. Incorporating the knowledge of macromolecular chemistry, it addresses industrial problems by modern organic chemical methods. Continuous flow methods have been divided into three groups: reactions carried out in gas-phase by means of liquid catalysts supported on solid matrices, and reactions carried out in liquid phase by means of catalysts supported on solid matrices. There is discussion on numerous differing varieties of support catalysts, and how they can be combined in manufacture.
The applications include: gas-liquid phase-transfer analysis; solid-phase peptide synthesis; hydroformulation and other reactions under supported liquid-phases catalysis conditions; recent synthetic applications of zeolites in fine chemistry; reactions of Nafion-catalysers and other acidic exchange resins; and decontamination of mineral oils containing polychlorinated biphenyls. An appendix provides more hints on reactors and kinetics, and included are lengthy accounts of recent supports for catalysts such as membranes and monoliths. There are 3000 references to the literature which should pave the way for further investigative research.