Flow Hydrogenation Reactor
Hydrogenation is one of the more important reactions in chemical synthesis; however, the inherent hazards associated with hydrogen have limited its widespread application. In a continuous-flow hydrogenator, the substrate flows continuously and is mixed with hydrogen generated via in-situ electrolysis before entering the reaction chamber. Thanks to the advancements in microfluidic technology, the efficiency of three-phase mixing is significantly enhanced. The hydrogen–substrate mixture can be rapidly and uniformly heated to 150°C and 100 bar; under these conditions, most reactions achieve extremely high conversion rates in just a few minutes. Within the catalytic column, the hydrogen–substrate mixture comes into effective contact with the catalyst surface, undergoing rapid reactions under high temperature and high pressure before being collected after passing through a filter. Within just a few minutes, it is possible to reduce 10 mg to 100 g of reactants with exceptionally high conversion yields. The system is operated via a touch-screen display, offering simple operation, a high degree of intelligence, and the ability to modify reactions on‑line.