A
microreactor or
microstructured reactor or
microchannel reactor is a device in which
chemical reactions take place in a confinement with typical lateral dimensions below 1 mm; the most typical form of such confinement are
microchannels. Microreactors are studied in the field of
micro process engineering, together with other devices (such as
micro heat exchangers) in which physical processes occur. The microreactor is usually a
continuous flow reactor (contrast with/to a
batch reactor). Microreactors offer many advantages over conventional scale reactors, including vast improvements in energy efficiency, reaction speed and yield, safety, reliability, scalability, on-site/on-demand production, and a much finer degree of process control.