ULTRASOUND-MICROWAVES COUPLING:
EFFICIENT TOOL FOR CHEMICAL-PROCESS INTENSIFICATION
Giancarlo Cravottoa*, Werner Bonrathb, Alessandro Bargea, Luisa Boffaa, Emanuela Calcio G.a.
a
Dip. di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università di Torino, V. Giuria 9, 10125 Torino, Italy.
b
DSM - Nutritional Products, P.O. Box 3255; CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland.
Presenting author Email: giancarlo.cravotto@unito.it
The intensification of chemical processes, which means improving their efficiency and cutting
down energy consumption, requires increased automation and the use of non-conventional
energy sources, as well as new, efficient and scalable protocols to be implemented in continuousflow reactors. The design and development of routes for manufacturing fine chemicals or
pharmaceuticals must conform to strict criteria concerning not only efficiency and selectivity,
but also time frame, safety, cost and environmental impact. Similar criteria also apply to the
treatment of polluted waters or sludges where the efficiency of time-consuming procedures
should be strongly enhanced, as observed in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). In these
contexts the specific advantages of power ultrasound (US) and microwaves (MW), due to their
ability to enhance reaction rates, yields and specificity, may become synergistic when they are
used in combination. The present communication summarizes the most relevant achievements in:
- designing and developing innovative US and US/MW reactors,
- their application to the one-pot synthesis of ionic liquids and the preparation of highly
functionalized cyclodextrin derivatives (especially via “click” chemistry reactions),
- their use in the US- and US/MW-assisted extraction of natural matrices,
- developing new sonochemical protocols for the synthesis of fine chemicals, and
- innovative US- and US/MW-assisted procedures for the degradation of persistent organic
pollutants and asbestos fibers in water and soil.
Although the intimate mechanisms of cavitation and microwave effects are not fully understood, as
a guide processes requiring enhanced heat- and mass transfer will benefit greatly from these green
techniques. Combinations of US and MW may be simultaneous or sequential; conditions have to be
tailored to each specific application for optimal results to occur.
References
-
Cravotto, G.; Beggiato, M.; Palmisano, G.; Lévêque, J.M., Bonrath W. Tetrahedron Lett. 2005, 46, 2267-2271.
Cravotto, G.; Cintas, P. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2006, 35, 180-196.
Salmar, S.; Cravotto, G.; Tuulmets, A.; Hagu H. J. Phys. Chem., B. 2006, 110, 5817-5821.
Lévêque, J.M.; Cravotto, G. Chimia 2006, 60, 313-320.
Cravotto, G.; Boffa, L.; Bia, M.; Bonrath, W.; Curini, M.; Heropoulos G.A. Synlett 2006, 2605-2608.
Cravotto, G.; Cintas, P. Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 1902-1909.
Cintas, P.; Martina, K.; Robaldo, B.; Boffa, L.; Cravotto, G. Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun. 2007, 72, 1014-1024.
Cravotto, G.; Cintas, P. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 5476 -5478.
Palmisano, G.; Bonrath, W.; Garella, D.; Barge, A.; Cravotto, G. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2007, 349, 2338-2344.
Cravotto, G.; Ondruschka, B.; Di Carlo, S.; Roggero, C.; Tumiatti V. Chemosphere 2007, 69, 1326-1329.
Turci, F.; Tomatis, M.; Mantegna, S.; Cravotto, G.; Fubini, B. J. Environ. Monitor. 2007, 9, 1064-1066.
Lévêque, J.-M.; Estager, J.; Draye, M.; Boffa, L.; Cravotto G.; Bonrath, W. Monatsh. Chem. 2007, 138, 1103-1113.
Cravotto, G.; Boffa, L.; Lévêque, J.-M.; Estager, J.; Draye, M.; Bonrath, W Austr. J. Chem. 2007, 60, 946-950.
Cravotto, G.; Di Carlo, S.; Curini, M.; Tumiatti, V.; Roggero, C. J. Chem. Tech. Biotech. 2007 82, 205-208.
Cravotto, G.; Cintas, P. “Extraction of flavourings from natural sources” in Modifying Flavour in Food; Edited by A. J. Taylor and
J. Hort; Woodhead Publishing Limited, Abington, Cambridge, 2007, Chapt. 3, pp 41-63.
Bremner, D.; Di Carlo, S.; Chakinala, A. G.; Cravotto, G. Ultrason. Sonochem. 2008, 15, 416-419.
Cravotto, G.; Boffa, L.; Mantegna, S.; Binello, A.; Ultrason. Sonochem. 2008, 15, 898-902.
Binello, A.; Robaldo, B.; Barge, A.; Cavalli, R.; Cravotto, G. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2008, 107, 2549-2557.
Cravotto, G.; Boffa, L.; Calcio Gaudino, E.; Lévêque, J.-M.; Estager, J.; Bonrath, W. Molecules 2008, 13, 149-156.
Barge, A.; Tei, L.; Upadhyaya, D.; Fedeli, F.; Aime, S.; Cravotto, G., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2008, 6, 1176 - 1184.
Barge, A.; Füzerová, S.; Upadhyaya, D.; Garella, D.; Aime, S.; Tei, L.; Cravotto, G. Synthesis 2008, 12, 1879-1882.
Cravotto, G.; Garella, D.; Calcio Gaudino, E.; Lévêque, J.-M. Chem. Today, 2008, 26, 39-41.