Optimum catalytic reactor design for methanol synthesis with TEC MRF-Z? reactor

The concept of Multi-stage indirect cooling and Radial Flow (MRF) is ideal for designing a catalytic reactor in which an exothermic equilibrium reaction takes place. The reaction is controlled to go on along the path of the maximum reaction rate in the catalyst bed where synthesis gas flows radially in the catalyst beds from the outer side to an inner center pipe across boiler (cooling) tubes to recover the reaction heat as qualitative steam. The MRF concept has already been proven in a commercial scale methanol plant and is unique not only for saving energy but also for considerable scale-up for which the enhanced design, MRF-Z^®, provides. MRF-Z^® is now offered for single train 5,000 t/d reactors used in so-called jumbo methanol plants.     

Solution phase synthesis of esters within a micro reactor

A range of techniques are demonstrated for the solution phase synthesis of esters within an EOF-based borosilicate glass micro reactor, including the use of mixed anhydrides and the in situ preparation of acyl halides.     

Continuous production of lactic acid from glucose and lactose in a cell-recycle reactor

Growth and lactic acid production ofLactobacillus delbreuckii were compared using glucose and lactose as carbon sources. A continuous-flow stirred-tank fermenter was coupled with a cross-flow filtration unit to permit operation at high-cell concentrations. At steady state, yeast extract requirements for lactic-acid production were lower when glucose was used as a substrate than with lactose fermentation. Once steady state was obtained, with glucose feed, it was possible to lower the yeast extract concentration without affecting biomass concentration and lactic acid production. The lacticacid concentration that inhibited cell growth and lactic acid production was found to depend on the choice of a carbon substrate.     

Flow-injection analysis for hypoxanthine in meat with dissolved oxygen detector and enzyme reactor

A low cost flow-injection analysis (FIA) with a dissolved oxygen (DO) detector and a xanthine oxidase immobilized column for the analysis of hypoxanthine as an index to determine degree of aging in meat was developed for quality control in the food industry. In this system, hypoxanthine is oxidized by an enzyme reaction with xanthine oxidase immobilized on the column to produce xanthine. Then the catalytic reaction between hypoxanthine and DO with xanthine oxidase proceeds with the DO concentration decreasing in the stream of the flow system. Decrease in the DO concentration was monitored by a DO detector located downstream of the flow system. This decrease in DO concentration was proportional to the hypoxanthine concentration. For detecting the decreased DO concentration efficiently a flow-through cell with a polarographic-type DO sensor was specially designed. As a result, a linear working curve was obtained from 3.68 × 10⁻⁵ to 1.84 × 10⁻³ M hypoxanthine concentrations with this FIA system. We applied the present system with a DO detector for the determination of hypoxanthine in meat samples and compared the results with those obtained by the conventional HPLC method. The data obtained with the present FIA method were in fairly good agreement with those obtained by the conventional HPLC method for the meat samples. Correlation factor and regression line between the two methods were 0.998 and Y= 1.51X-32.64 respectively. We concluded that the present FIA system with a DO detector was suitable as a simple, easy to handle and reliable instrument for quality control in the food industry.     

Acetamide degradation by a continuous-fed batch culture ofBacillus sphaericus

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The methanogenesis of acetamide occurs through a two-step reaction in methanogenic sludges. First, acetamide is hydrolyzed to acetate and ammonia by a...     

Continuous Miniemulsion Polymerization

Most miniemulsion polymerizations are carried out in batch reactors. However, continuous reactors or continuous reactor trains can provide a high level of consistency when operated at steady state. In this feature article, progress in continuous miniemulsion polymerization will be reviewed. Special attention will be given to issues of monomer diffusion and secondary nucleation. A large portion of the paper will be devoted to controlled radical polymerization for two reasons. First, this is a relatively new field, particularly when continuous reactors are considered, and second, for controlled radical polymerization in continuous reactors, the molecular weight distribution of the product is a direct function of the reactor residence time distribution.

     

Reactor and Product Optimization via Raman Fiber Optics Monitoring: Application to Polymer‐Based Proppants

A setup to characterize polymerization kinetics of polymer‐based proppants produced in an industrial batch reactor by suspension polymerization is presented. A microscale reactor is designed to mimic temperature and pressure conditions of the industrial counterpart. Raman spectroscopy is used to follow the consumption of vinyl bonds of the styrene monomer and the crosslinker via disappearance of the peak at 1632 cm^‐1. Raman data from the microscale reactor are remotely obtained via a fiber optics system. Reaction progress by any generic formulation can be safely followed up to conversions of 90%, well beyond the gel point. Reaction rates are used to define feasible temperature–time profiles for the industrial reactor. In parallel, bulk and suspension polymerizations are carried out under those temperature–time profiles in a 3 L laboratory reactor to produce proppants formulations with the geometry required to perform product characterization, mainly focused on the thermal and mechanical response of the polymer particles. Overall, the whole setup allows optimization of proppant formulations and the cost of their processes of production.     

Polymer nanocomposite membranes and their application for flow catalysis and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

The modern world essentially needs a chemical industry that can operate with reduced production costs, and produce high-quality products with low environmental impact. The polymer nanocomposite-based flow catalytic membrane reactor where the reaction and separation can be amalgamated in one unit is considered as one of the new alternative solutions to solve these problems. In this review, we have discussed state-of-the-art flow-through catalytic reactors based on polymer nanocomposite membranes. The unique advantages of flow catalysis include uninterrupted operation, good recyclability, and reaction product without contamination that leads to simple purification. Various catalytic model reactions such as coupling, hydrogenation, esterification in the flow system are presented. We have also presented an overview of methods adopted for preparing such nanocomposite membranes. In the last section, a discussion has been made on the recent advances on polymer-based nanocomposite membranes for the degradation and separation of organic pollutants.     

Fundamental Aspects of Ceria Supported Au Catalysts Probed by In Situ/Operando Spectroscopy and TAP Reactor Studies

The discovery of the activity of dispersed gold nanoparticles three decades ago paved the way for a new era in catalysis. The unusual behavior of these catalysts sparked many questions about their working mechanism. In particular, Au/CeO₂ proved to be an efficient catalyst in several reactions such as CO oxidation, water gas shift, and CO₂ reduction. Here, by employing findings from operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the near and extended Au and Ce L_III energy edges, we focus on the fundamental aspects of highly active Au/CeO₂ catalysts, mainly in the CO oxidation for understanding their complex structure-reactivity relationship. These results were combined with findings from in situ diffuse reflectance FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, highlighting the changes of adlayer and ceria defects. For a comprehensive understanding, the spectroscopic findings will be supplemented by results of the dynamics of O₂ activation obtained from Temporal Analysis of Products (TAP). Merging these results illuminates the complex relationship among the oxidation state, size of the Au nanoparticles, the redox properties of CeO₂ support, and the dynamics of O₂ activation.     

Toward Continuous-Flow Hyperpolarisation of Metabolites via Heterogenous Catalysis,Side-Arm-Hydrogenation,and Membrane Dissolution of Parahydrogen

Side-arm hydrogenation (SAH) by homogeneous catalysis has extended the reach of the parahydrogen enhanced NMR technique to key metabolites such as pyruvate. However, homogeneous hydrogenation requires rapid separation of the dissolved catalyst and purification of the hyperpolarised species with a purity sufficient for safe in-vivo use. An alternate approach is to employ heterogeneous hydrogenation in a continuous-flow reactor, where separation from the solid catalysts is straightforward. Using a TiO₂-nanorod supported Rh catalyst, we demonstrate continuous-flow parahydrogen enhanced NMR by heterogeneous hydrogenation of a model SAH precursor, propargyl acetate, at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. Parahydrogen gas was introduced into the flowing solution phase using a novel tube-in-tube membrane dissolution device. Without much optimization, proton NMR signal enhancements of up to 297 (relative to the thermal equilibrium signals) at 9.4 Tesla were shown to be feasible on allyl-acetate at a continuous total yield of 33 %. The results are compared to those obtained with the standard batch-mode technique of parahydrogen bubbling through a suspension of the same catalyst.