The application of palladium and zeolite incorporated chip-based microreactors

•The catalytic activity of a Pd/silicalite and Pd/ZSM-5 chip-microreactors is evaluated in the hydrogenation of 3-methyl-1-pentyn-3-ol and synthesis of MIBK.•The Pd/ZSM-5 chip-microreactor showed high selectivity toMIBK (90%) and demonstrated the ability to regenerate and reuse the microreactor.•The Pd/silicalite chip-microreactor was able to obtain an alkene yield of 95% which is higher than the conventional batch reactor (91%) due to the improved control of batch time.

The ability to successfully incorporate heterogeneous catalysts into chip-microreactors is demonstrated in the application of a Pd/ZSM-5 and Pd/silicalite chip-based microreactor for the synthesis of methyl-iso-ketone (MIBK) and the hydrogenation of 3-methyl-1-pentyn-3-ol. The bifunctional Pd/ZSM-5 chip-microreactor provides a high selectivity (>90%) to MIBK due to the incorporation of palladium and high Brønsted acidity while demonstrating the ability to regenerate and reuse the Pd/ZSM-5 chip-microreactor. The Pd/silicalite chip-microreactor illustrated the advantage of improved control of residence time in the microreactor to obtain high alkene yields. In addition, the design of chip-holders which are operable at high temperature, pressure and have a high chemical resistance further extend the operability of chip-based microreactors for use in the special chemical industry.

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