It is widely known that channel- or capillary-based microstructured reactors can provide undoubtedly indispensable conditions for processing highly exothermal reactions by an improved mass- and heat transfer. But often overlooked is the provision of energy-efficient cooling solutions, especially for the laboratory-sized equipment.

As reported by Holger Löwe and co-workers, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, heat pipes used for cooling of microstructured reactors are a new approach for sustainable processing also in the lab-scale within a temperature range from ambient to more than 180 °C.

With a heat pipe cooling system, the 3-N-alkylation of 1-ethyl-imidazole to 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate could be performed under controlled thermal conditions.

• Heat Pipe-Cooled Microstructured Reactor Concept for Highly Exothermal Ionic Liquid Syntheses
  H. Löwe, R. D. Axinte, D. Breuch, T. Hang, C. Hofmann,
  Chem. Eng. Technol. 2010, 33 (7), 1153.
  DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201000120