Membrane separation in green chemical processing: solvent nanofiltration in liquid phase organic synthesis reactions

This paper describes ideas together with preliminary experimental results for applying solvent nanofiltration to liquid phase organic synthesis reactions. Membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration have only recently (during the 1990s) become available and, to date, have been applied primarily to food processing (vegetable oil processing, in particular) and refinery processes. Applications to organic synthesis, even at a laboratory feasibility level, are few. However, these membranes have great potential to improve the environmental performance of many liquid phase synthesis reactions by reducing the need for complex solvent handling operations. Examples that are shown to be feasible are solvent exchanges, where it is desired to swap a high molecular weight molecule from one solvent to another between separate stages in a complex synthesis, and recycle and reuse of homogeneous catalysts. In solvent exchanges, nanofiltration is shown to provide a fast and effective means of swapping from a high boiling point solvent to a solvent with a lower boiling point-this is a difficult operation by means of distillation. Solvent nanofiltration is shown to be able to separate two distinct types of homogeneous catalysts, phase transfer catalysts and organometallic catalysts, from their respective reaction products. In both cases the application of organic solvent nanofiltration allows several reuses of the same catalyst. Catalyst stability is shown to be an essential requirement for this technique to be effective. Finally, we present a discussion of scale-up aspects including membrane flux and process economics.