Novel Reactor for Exothermic Heterogeneous Reaction Systems: Intensification of Mass and Heat Transfer and Application to Vegetable Oil Epoxidation

A novel reactor for exothermic heterogeneous reaction systems was developed and used in a vegetable oil epoxidation process. When hydrodynamic cavitation is coupled with a static mixer, both mass and heat transfer in the reactor can be intensified effectively. The Sauter mean diameter of water/oil dispersion was 8.90,mu m under hydrodynamic cavitation conditions with a relatively low inlet pressure (2.5 bar) as compared to 60.33 mu m for conventional stirring approach at 500 rpm. The epoxidation temperature variation was controlled within +/- 1 degrees C even when the H2O2 was added at once, whereas the temperature rise was up to 19 degrees C in a stirred-tank reactor. The use of this reactor results in decreased reaction time and a simpler and safer process, with final products having quality similar to that obtained in a traditional process.