| Abstract: | A kinetic model for the oxidation of phenol in high-pressure water has been developed and compared with experimental data taken from literature. The model assumes a chain reaction propagated by O? and OH?. Production of the hydroxyl radical by the reaction of atomic oxygen and water induces a chain-branching effect, which is particularly effective at low temperatures and high pressures. The proposed model gives a fair correlation of the experimental data in the whole examined temperature and pressure range and appears significantly better than a simpler, power-law kinetic model. The relibility of the model is strengthened by the consideration of values obtained for the kinetic parameters (in particular for the activation energies) which compare well with the literature. |
