DEVELOPMENT OF A CONTINUOUS CATALYTIC HETEROGENEOUS COLUMN REACTOR WITH SIMULTANEOUS EXTRACTION OF AN INTERMEDIATE PRODUCT BY AN ORGANIC-SOLVENT CIRCULATING IN COUNTERCURRENT MANNER WITH THE AQUEOUS-PHASE

A new solid-liquid-liquid reactor has been developed in order to simul taneously benefit from the advantages of both the catalytic activity a nd molecular sieve properties of the zeolites, the superior performanc es of concentration gradient reactors for positive order consecutive c hemical reactions and the extraction of an intermediate target product by a solvent with countercurrent flows. The first reaction experiment ed with, was the acido-catalyzed dehydration of the hexoses into 5-hyd roxymethylfurfural. The study was divided in two parts: (1) laboratory tests in a 0.3-liter batch reactor where mordenites were found to be the most selective catalysts, (2) chemical engineering studies: first, hydrodynamic tests where the systems tested ([water . hexose . zeolit e]-methylisobutylketone) enable large through-put capacities, second, chemical tests in a stainless steel pulsed column of 25 mm in diameter and 8220 mm in height. Simultaneously, same simulations have been exe cuted on a software designed by CEA for liquid-liquid extractions and modified by introducing chemical reactions.