Continuous Flow Chemistry and its Application in the Extraction of Natural Compounds

Abstract

Abstract: Continuous flow chemistry refers to the delicate chemical production processes, without interruptions and with the best possible use. It is a practice identified as an opportune for the incorporation of the principles of Green Chemistry into economically favorable industrial processes. The purpose of this work is to verify the efficiency advantage and lower the wastage of time and materials that continuous flow extraction can bring to industries, compared to the conventional methods, such as the batch method, for bioactive compound extraction. Herein, a systematic literature review of the available research was made, and the data were collected from articles in different languages (in Portuguese, Spanish, and English), dissertations, and theses, including the Web of Science database. By collecting, analyzing, and comparing publications in which tests using different methodologies for extracting compounds were conducted, we obtained results with the acquisition of extensive information about reactors and machinery that make extraction through continuous flow chemistry viable on a laboratory scale. We observed the expansion of the exothermic synthetic step options that are not possible in batch reactors. Continuous flow chemistry proves to be very advantageous compared to other conventional methods owing to several factors, such as environmental and economical, especially because it facilitates the reuse of waste materials in industrial processes. It not only allows a relatively fast and efficient extraction but also proves to be less aggressive to the environment.