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Kinetics of homogeneous 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural oxidation to 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid with Co/Mn/Br catalyst
Author(s) -
Zuo Xiaobin,
Chaudhari Amit S.,
Snavely Kirk,
Niu Fenghui,
Zhu Hongda,
Martin Kevin J.,
Subramaniam Bala
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.15497
Subject(s) - terephthalic acid , chemistry , catalysis , mass transfer , acetic acid , chemical engineering , oxygen , batch reactor , reaction rate , liquid phase , organic chemistry , chromatography , thermodynamics , polyester , physics , engineering
2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is a potential non‐phthalate based bio‐renewable substitute for terephthalic acid‐based plastics. Herein, we present an investigation of the oxidation rate of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to FDCA in acetic acid medium using Co/Mn/Br catalyst. Transient concentration profiles of the reactant (HMF), intermediates [2,5‐diformylfuran (DFF), 5‐formyl‐2‐furancarboxylic acid (FFCA)], and the desired product (FDCA) were obtained for this relatively fast reaction in a stirred semi‐batch reactor using rapid in‐line sampling. Comparison of the effective rate constants for the series oxidation steps with predicted gas–liquid mass transfer coefficients reveals that except for the FFCA → FDCA step, the first two oxidation steps are subject to gas–liquid mass transfer limitations even at high stirrer speeds. Novel reactor configurations, such as a reactor in which the reaction mixture is dispersed as fine droplets into a gas phase containing oxygen, are required to overcome oxygen starvation in the liquid phase and further intensify FDCA production. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 63: 162–171, 2017