Evaluation of an improved epichlorohydrin synthesis from dichloropropanol using a microchemical system

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2014.10.021

Abstract

Abstract: Synthesizing epichlorohydrin (ECH) from dichloropropanol (DCP) is a complicated reaction due to the partial decomposition of ECH under harsh conditions. A microchemical system can provide a feasible platform for improving this process by conducting a separation once full conversion has been achieved. In thiswork, referring to a common DCP feed used in industry, the reaction performance of mixed DCP isomers with NaOH in the microchemical systemon various time scaleswas investigated. The operating windowfor achieving high conversion and selectivity was on a time scale of seconds, while the side reactions normally occurred on a time scale of minutes. Plenty of Cl^- ions togetherwith a high temperaturewere proved to be critical factors for ECHhydrolysis. A kinetic study of alkaline mediated ECH hydrolysis was performed and the requirements for an improved ECH synthesis were proposed by combining quantitative analysis using a simplified reaction model with experimental results on the time scale of minutes. Comparedwith the conventional distillation process, this new strategy for ECH synthesis exploited microchemical system and decoupled the reaction and separation with potentials of higher productivity and better reliability in scaling up.

Key words: Epichlorohydrin, Dichloropropanol, Microchemical system, Synthesis, Process decoupling

摘要： Synthesizing epichlorohydrin (ECH) from dichloropropanol (DCP) is a complicated reaction due to the partial decomposition of ECH under harsh conditions. A microchemical system can provide a feasible platform for improving this process by conducting a separation once full conversion has been achieved. In thiswork, referring to a common DCP feed used in industry, the reaction performance of mixed DCP isomers with NaOH in the microchemical systemon various time scaleswas investigated. The operating windowfor achieving high conversion and selectivity was on a time scale of seconds, while the side reactions normally occurred on a time scale of minutes. Plenty of Cl^- ions togetherwith a high temperaturewere proved to be critical factors for ECHhydrolysis. A kinetic study of alkaline mediated ECH hydrolysis was performed and the requirements for an improved ECH synthesis were proposed by combining quantitative analysis using a simplified reaction model with experimental results on the time scale of minutes. Comparedwith the conventional distillation process, this new strategy for ECH synthesis exploited microchemical system and decoupled the reaction and separation with potentials of higher productivity and better reliability in scaling up.

关键词: Epichlorohydrin, Dichloropropanol, Microchemical system, Synthesis, Process decoupling

Yangcheng Lu, Rui Wang, Jisong Zhang, Qianru Jin, Guangsheng Luo. Evaluation of an improved epichlorohydrin synthesis from dichloropropanol using a microchemical system[J]. Chin.J.Chem.Eng., 2015, 23(7): 1123-1130.

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