Advantages and Limitations of a Nitration Reaction Performed in Batch vs. Continuous Mode.

Nitration reactions are commonly utilized in the pharmaceutical industry to synthesize aromatic amines. Developing safe, scalable nitrations can be challenging since these reactions are generally highly exothermic and result in the production of energetic, nitro containing compounds. While incorporating a continuous configuration for these reactions may help address some of the safety concerns due to a reduced in-process volume of reactive species and greater heat transfer, batch configurations may also offer significant advantages. This presentation will provide a comparative case study on the advantages and limitations of continuous and batch configurations for the nitration of a pharmaceutically relevant pyrrole. Included will be details of the laboratory scale process development activities and process demonstrations conducted at scales from 500g to 2.5 kg.