Mass transfer effects on hydroformylation catalyzed by a water soluble complex

The rate of hydroformylation of 1-octene catalyzed by a water soluble catalyst is measured in mechanically agitated batch reactor at various stirrer speeds and organic phase holdups. The data have been analyzed by coupling reaction kinetics to a pseudo-homogeneous gas–liquid–liquid model based on Higbie's penetration theory which takes into account the presence of the dispersed organic phase. A rapid liquid–liquid mass transfer of the reactants is assumed leading to an equilibrium between the continuous and the dispersed phases. The predicted values of the rate are in good agreement with the experimental one. The depletion of the organic substrate in the continuous phase is found negligible.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of an operating gas–liquid–solid catalytic fixed bed reactor

This work reports our pioneering application of the nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to the dynamic in situ studies of gas–liquid–solid reactions carried out in a catalytic trickle bed reactor at elevated temperature. The major advance of these studies is that MRI experiments are performed under reactive conditions. We have applied MRI to map the distribution of liquid phase inside a catalyst pellet as well as in a catalyst bed in an operating trickle-bed reactor. In particular, our studies have revealed the existence of the oscillating regimes of the heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenation reaction caused by the oscillations of the catalyst temperature and directly demonstrated the existence of the coupling of mass and heat transport and phase transitions with chemical reaction. The existence of the partially wetted pellets in a catalyst bed which are potentially responsible for the appearance of hot spots in the reactor has been also visualized. The combination of NMR spectroscopy with MRI has been used to visualize the spatial distribution of the reactant-to-product conversion within an operating reactor.     

The mechanism model of gas–liquid mass transfer enhancement by fine catalyst particles

In order to present the enhancement of gas–liquid mass transfer by heterogeneous chemical reaction near interface, the mechanism model has been proposed to describe the mass transfer rate for a gas–liquid–solid system containing fine catalyst particles. The composite grid technique has been used to solve the model equations. With this model the effect of particle size, first-order reaction rate constant, distance of particle to gas–liquid interface and residence time of particle near gas–liquid interface on the mass transfer enhancement have been discussed. The particle–particle interaction and slurry apparent viscosity can be considered in the model. The experimental data have been used to verify the model, and the agreement has been found to be satisfied.     

Kinetic studies of alkyl formate hydrolysis using formic acid as a catalyst

BACKGROUND: The hydrolysis of methyl formate is the major industrial process for the production of formic acid. The aim of the work is to determine the reaction kinetics quantitatively in the presence of formic acid catalyst, develop a mathematical model for the reaction system and estimate the kinetic parameters for the purpose of optimization. RESULTS: Liquid phase hydrolysis kinetics of alkyl formates (ethyl and methyl formate) was studied in an isothermal batch reactor at 80–110 °C and 20 bar nitrogen pressure. The catalyst of choice was formic acid. The reaction rate was enhanced but the formic acid product yield was slightly suppressed relative to the uncatalysed system. A kinetic model comprising mass balances and rate equations was developed and the kinetic and equilibrium parameters included in the rate equations were estimated from the experimental data with non‐linear regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The model was able to predict the experimental results successfully. The results obtained were compared quantitatively with an earlier model involving alkyl formate hydrolysis in a neutral aqueous solution. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

External and internal mass transfer effect on photocatalytic degradation

A rational approach is proposed in determining the effect of internal and external mass transfer, and catalyst layer thickness during photocatalytic degradation. The reaction occurs at the liquid–catalyst interface and therefore, when the catalyst is immobilized, both external and internal mass transfer plays significant roles in overall photocatalytic processes. Several model parameters, namely, external mass transfer coefficient, dynamic adsorption equilibrium constant, adsorption rate constant, internal mass transfer coefficient, and effective diffusivity were determined either experimentally or by fitting realistic models to experimental results using benzoic acid as a model component. The effect of the internal mass transfer on the photocatalytic degradation rate over different catalyst layer thickness under two different illuminating configurations was analyzed theoretically and later experimentally verified. It was observed that an optimal catalyst layer thickness exists for SC (substrate-to-catalyst) illumination.     

Experimental study and model of reaction kinetics of heterogeneously catalyzed methylal synthesis

Reaction kinetics of the heterogeneously catalyzed formation of methylal from aqueous methanolic formaldehyde solutions are studied in a plug flow reactor at 323, 333 and 343 K using the acidic ion exchange resin Amberlyst 15 (Rohm and Haas) as catalyst. Parameters of an activity-based pseudo-homogeneous reaction kinetic model are fitted to the experimental results. The model is based on the true speciation in the reacting solution and explicitly includes the oligomerization reactions of formaldehyde in aqueous methanolic solutions. The reaction kinetic model describes the experimental data well and is suited for process simulations in which both chemical reactions and phase equilibria have to be described simultaneously.     

Internal stress and magnetic properties of electrodeposited amorphous Fe–P alloys

The aim of this work is to investigate the use of a new type of reactor for electroorganic synthesis. The concept of the reactor is based on the principle of the porous percolated pulsed electrode (E3P) which was primarily developed at commercial scale for metal recovery in waste waters. The reactor is fitted with a three-dimensional electrode, of axial configuration, consisting of ordered stacks of discs of expanded metal. It can be supplied either by a homogeneous electrolyte or by an emulsion generated by an external ultrasonic system. The pulsation of the electrolyte represents a very effective means of improving mass transfer rates at the electrode. Under two phase conditions, the role of the pulsation is also to ensure the hydraulic transport of the emulsion and to increase the three phase contacts between the aqueous phase, the organic phase and the electrode. The efficiency of the reactor was tested using both homogeneous and two phase liquid–liquid electrolytes in the direct reduction process of an aromatic ketone. This study reports the effects of the pulsation on the mass transfer rate of acetophenone at the electrode. A comparative study of the behaviour of the E3P reactor towards different media is accomplished. Particular attention is paid to the chemical and faradaic yields, as well as to the selectivity of the reaction.     

The influences of the gas rate dissolution and mass-transfer limitation at the interfaces on selectivity of gas–liquid processes in stirred reactors with a suspended catalyst

A complex mathematical model accounting for the hydrogen dissolution process in suspensions and mass-transfer steps at the liquid–solid interface for the gas and liquid components is given. The calculated data according to the model for the reaction A→B→C shows, that the yield of an intermediate product B is very much affected by the relation of the gas component mass-transfer coefficient on the gas–liquid interface to that on the liquid–solid one. The hydrogenation of chlornitroaromatic compounds was analysed. The kinetics of the catalytic reduction of p-chlornitrobenzene to p-chloraniline via corresponding arylhydroxilamine on the Ir/C catalyst experimentally in a batch reactor has been studied. In this process the first reactions depend on the hydrogen concentration but the second ones are not dependent — this is a disproportion of the intermediate product to the final product — amine.     

Hydrogenation of acetophenone using a 10% Ni supported on zeolite Y catalyst: kinetics and reaction mechanism

The kinetics of hydrogenation of acetophenone was studied using a 10% Ni supported on zeolite Y catalyst in a temperature range 353–393 K. The effect of H₂ pressure, initial concentration of acetophenone and catalyst loading on the concentration-time profiles was studied. Water formed during the course of hydrogenation showed a strong inhibiting influence on the rate of reaction. A rate equation has been proposed based on L–H type rate mechanism assuming that the reaction between the non-competitively adsorbed hydrogen and the adsorbed organic substrate as rate limiting step. A semi-batch reactor model was developed to predict the concentration-time, H₂ consumption-time profiles at different sets of initial conditions. The model predictions were found to agree with experimental data very well at all temperatures. This model incorporates the inhibition of hydrogenation rate due to water. The inhibiting effect of water is also explained based on quantum chemical calculations.     

Dynamic methods and new reactors for liquid phase molecular catalysis

Kinetic data acquisition and screening of transition metal complexes for homogeneous liquid phase catalysis calls for numerous testing in multiphase G/L, L/L and G/L/L systems. It is shown first, with an example in asymmetric hydrogenation, why detailed kinetics must be performed. Then, new reactors leading to fast experimental techniques are proposed. A liquid–liquid centrifugal partition chromatography is evaluated for determining rate constants and partition isotherms by combining frontal analysis and elution chromatography, the catalyst being maintained in a stationary aqueous phase. Two microreactors offering short residence time have also been tested and compared with a fast test reaction (t_R ca. 5–20 s). The combination of reacting pulses, carrier liquids and micromixer is proposed as a general high throughput tool for the investigation of G/L, L/L and G/L/L catalytic systems in a fast sequential way.     

The selective hydrogenation of butyne-1,4-diol by supported palladiums: a comparative study on slurry, fixed bed, and monolith downflow bubble column reactors

The present study was carried out to asses performance of a Pd-monolith downflow bubble column (DBC) reactor, and compare it with that of the slurry and the fixed bed DBC. The selective hydrogenation of butyne-1,4-diol to cis-2-butene-1,4-diol over palladium catalyst was chosen as a model reaction. In principle, the monolith DBC allowed the reaction to take place under kinetic control regime. Comparison with DBC employing 5% Pd/C powder and 1% Pd-on-Raschig ring catalysts revealed a better performance of the monolith DBC (1% Pd loading) with advantage of smaller reaction volume and intensified reaction rate. In the monolith DBC, improved hydrogen transport was possible, as the interface between bubbles and the channel wall was very thin, thus, the length of the diffusion path was very short. In addition, the interfacial surface area at both gas–liquid and liquid–solid interface in the monolith was also very high. The reaction kinetics was well represented by the Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism. As an alternative to conventional three-phase reactors, the monolith DBC was simple due to its inherent characteristic operation and no specially designed device.     

Drop properties and pressure fluctuations in liquid–liquid–solid fluidized-bed reactors

Characteristics of size, rising velocity and distribution of liquid drops were investigated in an immiscible liquid–liquid–solid fluidized-bed reactor whose diameter was 0.102 and 2.5 m in height. In addition, pressure fluctuations were measured and analyzed by adopting the theory of chaos, to discuss the relation between the properties of liquid drops and the resultant flow behavior of three (liquid–liquid–solid) phase in the reactor. Effects of velocities of dispersed (0–0.04 m s⁻¹) and continuous (0.02–0.14 m s⁻¹) liquid phases and fluidized particle size (1, 2.1, 3 or 6 mm) on the liquid drop properties and pressure fluctuations in the reactor were determined. The resultant flow behavior of liquid drops became more irregular and complicated with increasing the velocity of dispersed or continuous liquid phase, but less complicated with increasing fluidized particle size, in the beds of 1.0 or 2.1 mm glass beads. In the beds of 3.0 or 6.0 mm glass beads, the effects of continuous phase velocity was marginal. The resultant flow behavior of liquid drops was dependent strongly upon the drop size and its distribution. The drop size increased with increasing dispersed phase velocity, but decreased with increasing particle size. The drop size tended to increase with approaching to the center or increasing the height from the distributor. The size and rising velocity of liquid drops and correlation dimension of pressure fluctuations have been well correlated in terms of operating variables.     

Multiphase equilibria calculation by direct minimization of Gibbs free energy with a global optimization method

This paper presents a new method for multiphase equilibria calculation by direct minimization of the Gibbs free energy of multicomponent systems. The methods for multiphase equilibria calculation based on the equality of chemical potentials cannot guarantee the convergence to the correct solution since the problem is non-convex (with several local minima), and they can find only one for a given initial guess. The global optimization methods currently available are generally very expensive. A global optimization method called Tunneling, able to escape from local minima and saddle points is used here, and has shown to be able to find efficiently the global solution for all the hypothetical and real problems tested. The Tunneling method has two phases. In phase one, a local bounded optimization method is used to minimize the objective function. In phase two (tunnelization), either global optimality is ascertained, or a feasible initial estimate for a new minimization is generated. For the minimization step, a limited-memory quasi-Newton method is used. The calculation of multiphase equilibria is organized in a stepwise manner, combining phase stability analysis by minimization of the tangent plane distance function with phase splitting calculations. The problems addressed here are the vapor–liquid and liquid–liquid two-phase equilibria, three-phase vapor–liquid–liquid equilibria, and three-phase vapor–liquid–solid equilibria, for a variety of representative systems. The examples show the robustness of the proposed method even in the most difficult situations. The Tunneling method is found to be more efficient than other global optimization methods. The results showed the efficiency and reliability of the novel method for solving the multiphase equilibria and the global stability problems. Although we have used here a cubic equation of state model for Gibbs free energy, any other approach can be used, as the method is model independent.     

Mass transfer effects in the H2SO4 catalyzed pivalic acid synthesis

The synthesis of carboxylic acids from alkenes, carbon monoxide and water according to the Koch process is usually carried out in a stirred gas–liquid–liquid multiphase reactor. Due to the complex reaction system with fast, equilibrium reactions and fast, irreversible reactions the yield and product distribution depend on a number of process parameters. The effect of some of these parameters was studied for the production of pivalic acid, using sulfuric acid as a catalyst. For the 96 wt.% sulfuric acid catalyst solution used the main reactions are relatively fast with respect to mass transfer and mixing. Therefore, aspects like the position of the injection point, inlet concentration, agitation intensity and injection rate all influence the yield obtained. The presence of an inert organic liquid phase was found to be beneficial, due to a combined effect of enhanced gas–liquid mass transfer and a ‘local supply’ effect for carbon monoxide near the hydrocarbon reactant inlet.     

Catalytic reaction performed in the liquid–liquid system at batch and semibatch operating mode

Hydrolysis of the propionic anhydrite catalysed with sulphuric acid at batch and semibatch operating conditions has been investigated using the reaction calorimeter RC1 Mettler Toledo. Due to a limited solubility of the anhydrite in the aqueous phase where the reaction takes place, mass transfer with simultaneous chemical reaction has to be considered. Contributions of both phases to the reaction mixture change during the reaction progress, so that a complex, strongly non-linear behaviour of the reactor has been noticed. Influence of the concentration of the catalyst, the reaction temperature as well as the initial volume fraction of the organic phase in the reaction mixture and the stirrer speed on the overall conversion rate have been determined directly from calorimetric measurements. Some indications related to the safe and efficient performance of the investigated process as well as to a simplified experimental kinetic model have been formulated.     

Kinetics for benzoylation of sodium 4-acetylphenoxide via third-liquid phase in the phase-transfer catalysis

In this research, the kinetics for synthesizing 4-acetylphenyl benzoate (R^*COOR) from benzoylation of sodium 4-acetylphenoxide via third-liquid phase-transfer catalysis was investigated. The reaction rate was observed to be strongly dependent on agitation speeds in the third-phase catalytic reaction. By forming the third-liquid phase, the observed reaction can be greatly enhanced to give a product yield of 100% in a duration of 3 min at 20 °C and 200 rpm. If a third-liquid phase was not formed in the liquid–liquid system, the reaction rate is very slow and the product yield is only 2% in 3 min at 20 °C. The reaction conducted in third-liquid phase-transfer catalytic system is faster than that in LLPTC system by 25–28 times. The amount of catalytic intermediate (QOR) in the third-liquid phase was about 50% of the catalyst initially added and kept about 30% of it remained after 1 min, and only small amounts of a catalytic intermediate residing in the organic phase were observed during the reaction using methyl t-butyl ether as the solvent. The concentration of catalytic intermediate slightly decreased with increasing reaction time, while the molar ratio of QOR to benzyl tri-n-butylammonium cation in the third-liquid phase remained almost constant after 1 min and increased with increasing agitation speeds. The experimental results were well described by the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The present work shows an effective method to synthesize 4-acetylphenyl benzoate.     

气相法聚乙烯冷凝模式操作的模拟研究(Ⅰ) 反应器运行状态的分析

建立了气相法聚乙烯冷凝模式操作反应器的两相模型 .模型涉及气泡相和乳化相中的热量和质量守衡、乳相和泡相之间的热量传递和质量传递、乳相中的聚合反应以及乳相中粒子的停留时间分布等 .通过模型研究了常规操作和冷凝操作时操作变量和反应器运行状态变量之间的关系 .模型模拟结果与工业的常规操作和冷凝操作数据符合较好 .得到了冷凝操作时时空收率、低温区域、聚合物灰分等的变化规律以及催化剂特性对冷凝操作的影响规律 .提出了适合于冷凝操作的催化剂类型     

Catalytic hydrotreatment of water contaminated by chlorinated aromatics

The catalytic hydrotreatment at low temperature of water contaminated by chlorobenzene and o-chlorobiphenyl has been studied experimentally using a Pd/C catalyst. Reaction runs have been carried out in a stirred reactor at constant temperature (T=30 °C) and pressure (P1 bar). Liquid phase concentration of chlororganic reactant and hydrogenated products, chloride ions concentration and pH have been measured during reaction time. Experimental results have been modelled assuming gas–liquid and liquid–solid equilibrium and the kinetic constants of the HDCl surface reactions have been evaluated.     

Effects of solvent polarity on the hydrogenation of xylose

The three‐phase hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol and anomeric equilibria of xylose were studied batchwise in aqueous and alcoholic solvents. Rate equations based on a novel model for semi‐competitive adsorption of dissociated hydrogen and organic species were developed. The proposed kinetic model was well able to predict the xylose, xylitol and also the by‐product concentrations. The model parameters were related to the polarity of the solvent. The sugar equilibria studies gave new information about the temperature dependence of the α–β‐pyranose and pyranose–furanose equilibria of xylose, in both water and aqueous ethanol solutions. It was found that the equilibria in both D₂O and C₂D₅OD follow an S‐shaped curve, the equilibria being shifted towards the α‐form at higher temperatures. The enhancing effect of alcoholic (eg ethanol, 2‐propanol) solvents on the hydrogenation of sugars is notable. We propose that the rate accelerating effect of alcohols is mainly due to the improved hydrogen solubility. Thus, the mass transfer of hydrogen from the gas phase to the liquid bulk, and further to the surface of the catalyst is clearly improved by the use of an alcohol solvent. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry