Isobutene hydration over Amberlyst-15 in a slurry reactor

• Published in: Chemical engineering and processing Vol. 42; no. 12; pp. 985 - 991
• Main Authors: Zhang, C.M., Adesina, A.A., Wainwright, M.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01.12.2003; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amberlyst-15; Applied sciences; Bubbling slurry reactor; Catalysis; Catalytic reactions; Chemical engineering; Chemistry; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Isobutene hydration; Reactors; TBA effect; Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry; Bubbling slurry reactor; Amberlyst-15; Isobutene hydration; TBA effect
• ISSN: 0255-2701; 1873-3204
• DOI: 10.1016/S0255-2701(02)00169-1

The synthesis of tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) via isobutene (iB) hydration was studied over Amberlyst-15 sulfonic acid catalyst particles using pure water and aqueous TBA solutions in a bubbling slurry reactor. Preliminary studies to investigate mass transfer effects showed that pore diffusion was present for catalyst particles greater than 165 μm in diameter. Therefore, intrinsic kinetic measurements were made using 90.5 μm catalyst particles and a catalyst loading of 10 kg m −3. The kinetic measurements revealed that iB hydration is a pseudo-first-order reaction with an activation energy of 69 kJ mol −1. Isobutene hydration experiments using TBA concentrations in water revealed a hindering effect of TBA, which indicates that separation of TBA formed by iB hydration in three-phase reactors using catalytic distillation is promising from a process design perspective.