Modelling a novel miniaturised reactor/separator system

The use of microreactors for industrially relevant chemical production processes has been investigated. Recent research has shown that miniaturised reactors support process intensification and successful applications involve the synthesis of unit operations. Following a study of candidate processes for miniaturisation, this investigation focussed on the direct fluorination that consists of a complex set of reactions. A novel catalytic membrane microreactor configuration has been developed to address the contacting of the gas/liquid/solid phases. The membrane separates the gas phase from the liquid phase, presenting a well-defined interface to the catalyst. A simplified model has been developed to study the advantages of the catalytic membrane for an isothermal parallel reaction system, where an electrophilic reaction leads to the desired product but competes with a fast radical reaction mechanism. If no catalyst is used the selectivity can be improved by limiting the fluorine concentration. The separation of the reactants results in higher selectivities at higher conversion compared with a mixed feed process (ie bubble column).

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