Modelling of complex liquid-solid reaction systems in semibatch reactors: Claisen condensation in industrial scale

Several organic liquid-phase reactions are carried out in the presence of a sparingly soluble reactive solid phase which is gradually dissolved during the course of the reaction. The presence of the reactive solid phase compl icates the treatment of kinetic data, since the overall reaction rate is in fluenced by the solubility equilibrium and mass transfer rate of the solid compound. A mathematical model has been derived for an organic reaction sys tem with one reactive solid compound. The modelling concept was applied on a linear multistep reaction system, Claisen condensation. The solubility of the solid compound was measured under non-reactive conditions and the kine tic parameters for the reaction system were determined from the data obtain ed with semibatch experiments. Model simulations elucidated the behaviour o f the sparingly soluble reactive compound in the process and they indicated that the rate equations describe the experimental kinetic data well. (C) 2 001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.