Energetic Material Synthesis: Scale-up Using a Novel Modular Microflow Reactor Setup

The advantages ofmicroflow reactors have proven to be manifold,e.g., the excellent cooling ability, which allows performing exothermicreactions like nitrations safely. A critical point remains the transitionfrom gram scale to industrial production. On an industrial scale,they are often designed for specific syntheses and are therefore lessuseful for a conventional research laboratory. A reactor setup wassuccessfully developed mitigating these shortcomings and allowingthe use of highly corrosive materials, like fuming inorganic acids(e.g., nitric, sulfuric acid), bases (e.g., bleach solutions), andchlorinated solvents. As a proof of functionality, the synthesis ofnitroguanidine has been performed on a lab scale and was significantlyimproved over reported batch syntheses in terms of safety and productionrate. A scale-up to industrial scale has hence become feasible.