The flow revolution
Continuous approaches are starting to find use in fine chemicals, as Angeli Mehta discovers
From fine chemicals to pesticides and drugs, chemical manufacturers are rethinking the start–stop batch processing model which has served them for the past 50 years and looking towards flow, or continuous, processing. The drivers are varied: the push for sustainability, improved safety requirements and changing supply chain models. Flow chemistry is used in the chemical industry on a megatonnes scale, but for smaller processes, flow chemistry is offering benefits: improved yields, less waste, greater purity of the finished product and even a safer process.