IMRET 5 featured more than 80 oral and poster communications, covering the entire interdisciplinary field from design, production, modeling and characterization of microreactor devices to application of microstructured systems for production, energy and transportation, including many analytical and biological applications. A particularly strong topic was the investigation of the potential of microstructuring of reactors and systems components for process intensification. Perspectives of combining local, in situ, data acquisition with appropriate microstructuring of actuators and components within chemical and biological devices were explored in order to enhance process performance and facilitate process control.

Miniaturization has cost and time-saving advantages for numerous applications in chemistry, pharmacy, medicine and biotechnology. Additionally, microreaction technology offers new solutions for the automobile industry and environmental technology, e.g. fuel cells, or mobile sensor systems for on-the-spot analysis. Therefore, the 3rd International Conference on Microreaction Technology - IMRET 3 is an important forum for creating awareness of the wide variety of the new trends in this up-and-coming discipline.

While continuous processes have found widespread application within chemical production, members of the research and development communities have historically favored the centuries old technique of iterative batch reactions. With the exception of combinatorial and microwave chemistry, little had been done to change the way that synthetic chemists c

Presents general aspects of microreaction technology. Discusses in detail microfabrication techniques, micromixers, micro heat exchangers, microseparation systems, micosystems for liquid and gas phase reactions, gas/liquid microreactors, and microsystems for energy generation, catalyst, and material screening.

Microreaction technology is the logically consistent application of microsystem techniques in chemical reaction and process engineering. Miniaturization in this field is the strategy of success and requires the development of small, inexpensive, independent and versatile chemical reaction units. Microreaction technology is at present regarded as one of the fastest evolving and most promising disciplines in chemical engineering, combinatorial synthesis and analysis, pharmaceutical drug development and molecular biotechnology. A broad range of microstructurable materials is a prerequisite for microreaction technology and the development of microreactors goes hand in hand with the availability of a number of modem, versatile microfabrication technologies. Today, it is possible to manufacture tbree dimensional microstructures, almost without any restrictions with regard to design and choice of suitable materials, for various chemical applications -just in time to support the development of functional units for microreactors, e. g. micromixers, micro heat exchangers, micro extractors, units for phase transfer, reaction cham bers, intelligent fluidic control elements and microanalysis systems. The advantages of microreactors, e. g. the use of novel process routes, the re duction of reaction byproducts, the improvement of 'time to market', the high flexibility for all applications requiring modular solutions, have had a strong im pact on concepts of sustainable development. Many of the leading companies and research institutes in the world have recognized the tremendous possibilities of microreactor concepts and of their economic potential, and have thus initiated worldwide research and development activities.

Micro process engineering is approaching both academia and industry. With the provision of micro devices and systems by commercial suppliers, one main barrier for using these units has been eliminated. More and more they become familiar, thereby being one facet of the upheaval in chemical industry. This book focuses on processes rather than on devices: what is 'before' and 'behind' micro device fabrication. A comprehensive and detailed overview is given on: - A multi-faceted, hierarchic analysis of chemical micro process technology - Modelling and simulation of micro reactors - Liquid- and liquid/liquid-phase reactions - Gas/liquid reactions - Gas-phase reactions (heterogeneous catalysis)

Microreaction technology, with its unprecedented heat and mass transfer advantages as well as uniform residence time and flow pattern, is one of the few technologies with potential to develop efficient, environmentally benign, and compact processes. Novel fabrication and processing techniques, equipment, and operational methods are resulting in spectacular developments that go beyond "traditional" chemical engineering. These new developments promise improvements in process plants, and lead to the transformation of our concept of chemical plants into compact, safe, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable processes. Microsystems are now available in many devices for commercial applications including: micromixers and microreactors as alternative to batch production in pharmaceutical and fine chemical industry, lab-on-chip devices, microsensors, advanced rapid throughput chemical and catalyst screening tools (e.g. combi), distributed or portable power and chemical production, distributed heating and cooling, and even out of this world applications with NASA. A wide diversity of subjects are discussed in this book ranging from catalysis to fuel processing to combinatorial techniques to separations to novel reactors all of which are enabled by microtechnology principles. World renowned pioneers (Klavs Jensen, Volker Hessel, Jennifer Holmgren, and Galip Akay) provide accounts on both historical developments and the current state of the art as well as insights into future research and development in microreactor and process intensification. Research and developments are presented by industry, universities, U.S. National Laboratories, and other laboratories located in the United States and throughout the world. It is composed of peer-reviewed chapters from both contributing and invited authors. The review and original research topics include (1) introductory and general overviews, (2) microreactors- including catalysts for microreactors, fuel processors, milli-second contact time catalysis, gas to liquid technology, and biomass conversion; and (3) process intensification such as micro mixers, reactive membranes, and intensification of separation operations.