Factors affecting production of nonaqueous peracetic acid in tubular packed reactors

Abstract

The synthesis of nonaqueous peracetic acid in acetone by acetaldehyde oxidation was carried out in a tubular packed reactor. The influencing factors of the reacting system including packing material, oxygen carrier, and reactor configuration were investigated. The results show that porous materials are inappropriate for peracetic acid synthesis and only non porous material with appropriate surface area can provide good peracetic acid selectivity and yield. Among the six kinds of packing material investigated, SA-5118 is the best one. As oxidizing gas, pure oxygen is superior to air. The optimum length-to-inner diameter ratio of the reactor is about 40. Under the proper reaction conditions, the highest peracetic acid yield of 84.15% and the highest selectivity of 93.34% can be achieved which indicates that the novel reacting system is effective and economical for nonaqueous peracetic acid production.

Keywords

back mixing / tubular packed reactor / peracetic acid / acetaldehyde