KINETICS OF P-XYLENE LIQUID-PHASE CATALYTIC-OXIDATION

A semibatch gas-liquid reactor model based on a lumped kinetic scheme for the liquid-phase oxidation of p-xylene to p-toluic acid catalyzed by cobalt naphtenate is developed. The model accounts for the complex nature of the involved reaction network, as well as for the interphase and interphase mass transport processes of both reactants and products. The model reliability is tested by comparison with suitable experimental data obtained in a semibatch oxidation reactor, where the role of the composition of both the gaseous and the liquid feed has been investigated. It is shown that the model describes the reactor behavior in any of the regimes which may prevail depending upon the operating conditions and the depletion of liquid reactants in time.