Nonisothermal photochlorination of methyl chloride in the liquid phase

A model for the photochlorination of methyl chloride in the liquid phase was developed, with numerical solution and experimental verification. The reaction was carried out under pressure, using carbon tetrachloride as a solvent with polychromatic radiation in a nonisothermal tubular reactor. Momentum, thermal energy, mass and photon balances were established rigorously and solved numerically. Reaction constants were taken from the known reaction mechanistic kinetics in the gas phase. Theoretical results agreed well with bench‐scale experiments performed inside an elliptical reflector in the prediction of both reactant conversion and product selectivities. The validated model was used to show the existence of significant temperature and concentration gradients inside the reactor, both in the radial and in the axial directions.