Novel continuous process for methacrolein production in numerous droplet reactors
Hui Zhao, Ran Ran, Lei Wang, Chunshan Li, Suojiang Zhang
Abstract
Abstract A continuous process for methacrolein production was constructed by filling w/o Pickering emulsions in a column reactor. Ionic liquid (IL‐[HDEA]Ac) with secondary amine was designed to catalyze propionaldehyde condensation with formaldehyde through the Mannich reaction. Emulsion droplets encapsulated with IL aqueous solution were stabilized with modified SiO 2 nanoparticles and dispersed in cyclohexane, which could be observed as numerous reactors. The properties of SiO 2 stabilizer, such as wettability, surface groups, and the effect on interfacial tension were investigated. The characteristics of emulsion influenced by stabilizer properties and content were systematically studied. The droplet size, IL concentration and liquid hourly space velocity were optimized. The droplets were evaluated at 0.5 hr −1 for 150 hr without IL leakage and obvious activity decreasing, indicating the excellent stability of the emulsion system. The continuous process showed a 1.25‐fold enhancement in catalysis efficiency and less equipment compared to batch process.