On-line reaction calorimetry optimization of safety parameters

When chemical reactions are performed in semi-batch mode and the reaction rate is relatively low, the reactant added may be accumulated. The resulting thermal accumulation is of major concern regarding process safety, as a fault in the cooling system may lead to a run-away reaction. The feed rate in semi-batch processes is usually constant, but this paper discusses methods of optimizing the feed rate interactively, based on the measured heat flow and the calculated amount of compound that has actually reacted. The prerequisite of such procedures is to run the experiments in a reaction calorimeter in which the heat flows can be measured accurately and continuously. For this purpose a ChemiSens reaction calorimeter CPA202, which is calibration free and gives stable, flat ‘zero-line-type’ baselines, was employed.     

Systematic investigations of the photocatalytic alkyne-nitrile heterotrimerisation to pyridine

The photocatalytic heterocyclotrimerisation of ethyne and nitrile initiated by cobalt(I) complexes was studied. General mechanistic features as proposed for the ‘dark’ reaction were found to apply as well under photolytic conditions albeit with modifications. The results suggest that the irradiated light accelerates that stage of reaction, leading to the organometallic species which is believed to be the common intermediate for the formation of pyridine and benzene. The rate of pyridine production is linear dependent from nitrile concentration. Benzene formation may be minimised by keeping the ethyne concentration low. An alternative mechanism, based on the initial coordination of nitrile at cobalt is not confirmed. A novel gas buret system was used, which allowed automatic feed of ethyne under isobaric conditions and to monitor all reactants simultaneously on-line.     

Dry Reforming of Methane with Carbon Dioxide Using Pulsed DC Arc Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

Dry reforming of CH₄ with CO₂ to produce syngas was investigated in a plasma reactor without catalysts at atmospheric pressure. The reactants passed through the plasma zone and reacted in milliseconds with high conversions and selectivity due to the localized high temperature. The results showed that both conversions and selectivity were higher when using a DC arc discharge than using a pulsed DC arc. Increasing the input energy density promoted the conversions of reactants. At an input power of 204 W, the conversions of CO₂ and CH₄ reached 99.3 and 99.6%, respectively, and the selectivity to products was almost 100%, where the molar ratio of CO₂/CH₄ was 1 with the reactants flow rate of 100 ml/min. Very little coke was formed during the course of reaction. Key parameters such as the pulse frequency, the input power and the total feed flow rate were studied to find the optimum operating condition.     

Reduction of an Ensemble of Chloride Aquacomplexes of Platinum(II): An Analysis in the Framework of Phenomenological Approach

A general approach is offered to a phenomenological analysis of experimental data on the kinetics of an electrode reaction complicated by chemical stages. The approach is based on a consideration of the way the process rate depends on the supporting-electrolyte concentration at a constant electrode charge. The possibilities of the approach are illustrated by the example of the reduction of chloride complexes of Pt(II) in the presence of chloride, indifferent (in the sense of inner-sphere substitution), and mixed supporting electrolytes. The performed analysis generalizes the Frumkin–Petrii relationship, which determines the average charge of the single reactant in the solution bulk. A system may contain an ensemble of reactants. In this case, in addition to the bulk properties of the system, similar relationships take into account the interface structure and the balance between partial rate constants for parallel reactions involving reactants of different chargeness.     

Donnan dialysis of copper, gold and silver cyanides with various anion exchange membranes

Donnan dialysis is an ion exchange membrane process that can be used for the purification and concentration of diluted solutions. In this work, the behaviour of gold, silver and copper in cyanide medium is examined. Flux of cyanide complexes and corresponding free cyanide are determined using five commercial anion exchanger membranes (AMV, ACS, RAI 5035, ADP and ADS). The results show that the rate transfer depends upon the nature of the anion exchanger membrane. It is observed that the species number in the feed solution influences the transfer selectivity of metal ion complex against free cyanide Thus, gold which forms only one stable species with cyanides is transferred faster through an ACS membrane than copper which forms three species. However, this result is not verified when an ADS membrane is used. A model of the complex transfer through anion exchange membranes based on Donnan dialysis is proposed. A three compartment Donnan dialysis is performed to improve the separation between the studied metals. Decyanidation is also examined and separation factors are calculated. It is shown that Donnan dialysis can be an efficient technique for the separation of cyanides complexes of copper, gold and silver when parameters such as anion exchange membrane and the number of compartments are optimised. An advantage of this technique is also the possibility of recycling all reactants with a good impact on the environment.     

Measurement of adsorption of a single component from the liquid phase: modelling investigation and sensitivity analysis

In this work, we consider an alternative approach for the measurement of adsorption from the liquid phase. Consider a mixture consisting of a non-adsorbed component (B) and an adsorbed component (A) present at some low concentration. Initially, a feed of component B only flows through a column packed with an adsorbent. Then, the feed is switched to the mixture of A and B. As soon as the mixture enters the column, there will be a reduction in the outlet flow rate as component A leaves the liquid phase and passes into the adsorbed phase. There are three stages to this work. The first is to develop overall and component balances to show how the amount adsorbed of component A can be determined from the variation in the column outlet flow rate. The second is to determine the actual variation in the column outlet flow rate for both plug flow and axial-dispersed plug flow. The final stage is to consider the suitability of a gravity-fed system to deliver the feed to the column. An analysis of the results shows that the experimental arrangement should be able to accurately monitor adsorption from the liquid phase where the mass fraction of the solute is of the order of 1%: the limiting experimental factor is how constant the volumetric flow rate of the liquid feed can be maintained.     

Continuous biphasic catalysis: palladium catalyzed cross coupling reactions

The immobilisation of polymer tagged catalysts in a stationary solvent in a reactor and the flow of reactants dissolved in another immiscible solvent through it, allows the conversion of a continuous feed of reactants into a product stream, as exemplified by the Sonogashira coupling of aryl halides and acetylenes.     

Polystyrene prepared by reactive extrusion: kinetics and effect of processing parameters

The conversion and residence time were investigated during the bulk polymerization of styrene in a twin screw extruder. It was found that polymerization mainly occurred in the zone between 400 and 1000 mm along the screw axis in the extruder, corresponding to the residence time of the reactants ranging from 1 to 4 min in the extruder. Furthermore, the processing conditions (feed rate, screw rotation rate) and average molecular weight of the polymer have a great effect on the residence time. Based on dimensionless analysis, a model of the residence time has been built‐up, which has been confirmed by the results of realistic measurements. A kinetic model of the polymerization has also been established under the assumption that the screw extruder can be regarded as an ideal plug flow reactor. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A photocatalytic membrane reactor for VOC decomposition using Pt-modified titanium oxide porous membranes

Porous titanium oxide membranes with pore sizes in the range of 2.5–22 nm were prepared by a sol–gel procedure, and were applied for decomposition of methanol and ethanol as model volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in a photocatalytic membrane reactor, where oxidation reaction occurs both on the surface and inside the porous TiO₂ membrane while reactants are permeating via one-pass flow. Methanol was completely photo-oxidized by black-light irradiation to CO₂ when methanol at a concentration of 100 ppm was used at a feed flow rate of 500 × 10⁻⁶ m³/min, but the conversion decreased when the MeOH concentration in the feed was increased. Pt-modification was carried out by photo-deposition, and led to a decrease in pore diameter. Using Pt-modified membranes, a nearly complete oxidation of methanol up to 10,000 ppm at a feed flow rate of 500 × 10⁻⁶ m³/min was observed. Thus, such membranes would be effective for purifying a permeate stream after one-pass permeation through the TiO₂ membranes. The decomposition of ethanol is also discussed.     

Electron transfer kinetics with both reactant and product attached to the electrode surface

An open circuit charge injection (“coulostatic”) technique was employed to measure electron transfer kinetics for reactants confined to the surface of graphite electrodes. Iron protoporphyrin IX exhibited kinetics that were too fast to measure but the rate constant for the reduction of 9,10-phenanthrenequinone at its formal potential in 1 M HClO₄ was evaluated as 320 s^?1 at 22°C. Measurements of the rate constant at temperatures between 5 and 50°C produced a linear Arrhenius plot with an intercept which was rationalizable in terms of a frequency factor near kT/h. This result is utilized in a discussion of the factors that control the electrochemical reactivity of reactants in attached and unattached states.     

连续氢化物发生—电加热石英管—原子吸收光谱法实验系统

报道了连续氢化物发生－电加热石英管原子吸收光谱法实验系统。并以铅烷（ＰｂＨ４）发生为代表对氢化物发生器构型，残留液体积、原子化温度、石英管电加热区域长度、载气流速、测量波长选择泵速、进样管长度等诸多影响因素作了试验。     

大气压等离子体射流重整CH_4-CO_2制合成气

采用大气压等离子体射流,以CH4和CO2直接作为放电气体进行常压下重整制合成气的实验研究,考察了等离子体射流的放电特征及放电距离、放电功率、原料气配比和流量对反应的影响。结果表明,该等离子体具有放电稳定、均匀的特征。重整反应的主要产物为合成气,只有少量的H2O和积炭生成。优化的反应条件为放电距离为9 mm,CH4和CO2的摩尔比为4/6。当原料气流量为1 000 mL/min,放电功率为88.4 W时,CH4和CO2的最高转化率为分别为94.99%和87.23%。甲烷和二氧化碳的转化率随放电功率的增加而增加,随流量的增加而减少。     

New approaches to studying the kinetics of the radical reaction of N-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinone monoimine with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole

The kinetics of the reaction of N-phenyl-1,4-benzoquinone monoimine with 2-mercaptobenzothiazole in chlorobenzene at 298 and 343 K under argon has been studied by kinetic spectrophotometry. The reaction orders have been determined. The influence of tetraphenylhydrazine and azobisisobutyronitrile initiators has been investigated. An accelerating effect of one of the reaction products, 4-hydroxydiphenylamine, has been discovered. The accelerating effect strenthens with an increasing 2-mercaptobenzothiazole concentration. Two methods are proposed for determination of the kinetic parameters of the reaction. The first method uses data on the consumption rate of quinoneimine in the noninitiated reaction in the presence of 4-hydroxydiphenylamine. In the second method, the accumulation of quinone monoimine is studied during initiator decomposition in the presence of mixtures of 4-hydroxydiphenylamine and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and parameters are estimated from the dependences of the limiting concentration of accumulated quinone monoimine on the initiation rate and on the concentrations of the reactants Using the proposed approaches, the numerical values of a number of kinetic parameters of the radical reactions of the quinone compounds with thiols have been determined for the first time for the reaction studied.     

Semicontinuous seeded emulsion copolymerization of vinyl acetate and methyl acrylate

The semicontinuous seeded emulsion copolymerization of vinyl acetate and methyl acrylate was investigated. The effect of type of process (starved process versus semi-starved process), type of feed (neat monomer addition versus monomer emulsion addition), amount of seed initially charged in the reactor, and feed rate on the time evolution of the overall conversion, copolymer composition, and polymer particle size was analyzed. It was found that, in the case of the starved process, both monomers, but mainly vinyl acetate, accumulated in the reactor. The preferential accumulation of vinyle acetate resulted in a drift of the copolymer composition. Both monomers accumulation and copolymer composition drift were reduced by increasing the amount of seed initially charged in the reactor and by decreasing the feed rate. For the semi-starved process, it was found that a vinyl aceatate rich copolymer was formed when a low methyl acrylate feed was used, whereas a methyl acrylate rich copolymer was obtained at high methyl acrylate feed rates. For both starved process and semi-starved process, the total number of polymer particles, after an initial increase, reached a plateau value which was the same in all of the experiments carried out. These results were analyzed by means of a mathematical model developed for this system.     

Influence of electronic and geometric factors on the redox properties of the blocked zinc porphyrinates in the reaction with organic peroxides

By an example of the reaction of intermolecular interaction of organic peroxides with blocked zinc porphyrinates we studied the effect of the macrocycle electronic and conformational features on the redox properties. Kinetics and mechanism of the reaction were studied. Using the calculated geometric characteristics of the isolated molecules of reactants and reaction intermediates, we evaluated a degree of their deformation. An increase in the steric strain in the macrocycle is shown to increase the rate of redox process.     

Vapor-Phase Alkylation of Phenol with Tert-butyl Alcohol Catalyzed by H3PO4/MCM-41

 The catalytic performance of Al-MCM-41 containing 5?5 wt% H3PO4 was studied for the vapor phase alkylation of phenol with tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) from 383 to 493 K. 4-Tert-butyl phenol was produced as the main product with moderate selectivity. The product distribution depends on the reaction temperature, number of acid sites, and the Br鰊sted to Lewis sites ratios. A lower molar ratio of reactants (TBA/phenol = 2) and a higher space velocity facilitated the production of 4-tert-butyl phenol. The influence of various parameters such as temperature, reactant feed molar ratio, feed rate, and time on stream were investigated for conversion yield and product selectivity.     

多尖端旋转电极辉光放电甲烷偶联研究

石油资源的日趋短缺使人们对世界大储量能源天然气的开发利用越来越重视.甲烷(CH4)是天然气的主要成份.由于CH4分子具有很高的稳定性,用CH4直接偶联制C2烃(乙烷、乙烯、乙炔)在热力学上十分不利,采用常规催化手段一直未取得突破性进展\[1\],而辉光放电等冷等离子体对于CH4偶联是一种非常有效的方法,近年来已成为物理化学跨学科前沿研究热点.在本研究领域中,利用脉冲电晕等离子体结合催化剂进行甲烷转化[2],其等离子体在空间分布上是非连续的,活性较低,反应区较小,甲烷的转化率及C2烃收率必然是有限的;利用微波诱导甲烷在催化剂上转化制C2烃[3],由于温度很高,能量密度太大,很容易使甲烷完全裂解,生成大量积碳,C2烃的收率也较低;利用介质阻挡放电使CH4偶联[4],能耗太大,能量利用率很低.因此,冷等离子体CH4偶联实现工业化的课题就是要在提高CH4转化率及C2烃收率的同时降低能耗,以提高能量利用率.     

A Method for Esterification Reaction Rate Prediction of Aliphatic Monocarboxylic Acids with Primary Alcohols in 1,4‐Dioxane Based on Two Parametrical Taft Equation

Esterification reaction rates of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids with primary alcohols in 1,4‐dioxane as inert solvent were investigated. Acids were esterified with 1‐propanol and alcohols with acetic acid as model reactants at a constant temperature of 60°C, at a fixed ionic strength and pH in a batch reactor with a constant volume. For evaluation of reaction rates, an exact kinetic equation for the equilibrium reaction was applied. Under these conditions and for low reactants, concentrations reaction rate depends only on the structure of reactants and, therefore, can be predicted by a correlation equation with two Taft coefficients (inductive and steric effects). From these equations, it is possible to estimate the esterification reaction rate constant for other acid‐alcohol pairs. This methodology may also be suitable for other kinetic systems measured under comparable experimental conditions.     

Zirconyl chloride promoted highly efficient solid phase synthesis of amide derivatives

An efficient solid phase route for the synthesis of amide derivatives by the reaction of carboxylic acids with urea in the presence of catalytic amount of zirconyl chloride under microwave irradiation conditions was described.In this way,a range of interesting amide derivatives was obtained in good to excellent yields.The catalyst was recycled with fresh reactants and it gave almost similar results without significant loss of activity up to the third run.     

From transition paths to transition states and rate coefficients

Transition states are defined as points in configuration space with the highest probability that trajectories passing through them are reactive (i.e., form transition paths between reactants and products). In the high-friction (diffusive) limit of Langevin dynamics, the resulting ensemble of transition states is shown to coincide with the separatrix formed by points of equal commitment (or splitting) probabilities for reaching the product and reactant regions. Transition states according to the new criterion can be identified directly from equilibrium trajectories, or indirectly by calculating probability densities in the equilibrium and transition-path ensembles using umbrella and transition-path sampling, respectively. An algorithm is proposed to calculate rate coefficients from the transition-path and equilibrium ensembles by estimating the frequency of transitions between reactants and products.