Synthesis of organic peroxydes using an oscillatory flow mixing reactor

• US 10,449,509 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2016
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arkema France (Arkema)
• Original Assignee: Arkema France (Arkema)
• Inventors: Blum, Albert, Maj, Philippe, Hub, Serge
• Primary Examiner(s): Parsa, Jafar F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Doletski, Blaine G
• Application Number:
  US15/768,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20180304227A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,091 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/0006 Controlling or regulating processes controlling or regulating in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/241 of the pulsating type
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/248 Reactors comprising multiple separated flow channels
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00033 Continuous processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00159 controlling multiple zones along the direction of flow, e.g. pre-heating and after-cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00164 controlling the flow
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 407/00 Preparation of peroxy compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 409/38 the —O—O— group being bound between a >C=O group and a carbon atom, not further substituted by oxygen atoms, i.e. esters of peroxy acids

Abstract

The present invention concerns a method and an apparatus (10, 20) for a continuous preparation of organic peroxides, with the reactor comprising at least one flow channel (1, 1a, 1b) configured as a reaction zone; an inlet system (2) in fluid communication with a first end of the at least one flow channel and configured for introducing two or more substances or a combination of substances into the at least one flow channel; an outlet system (3) in fluid communication with a second end of the at least one flow channel, the second end being located downstream of the first end and the outlet system being configured for extracting a reaction product present at the second end; an oscillatory system (4, 5) configured for superimposing an oscillatory flow on the flow of substances passing through the at least one flow channel, the oscillatory being effected in at least a section of the at least one flow channel; and a controller configured to implement the method by controlling the inlet system to introduce, according to a first time characteristic, at least two substances or a combination of substances into the at least one flow channel, the oscillatory system to superimpose an oscillatory flow on at least a part of the flow of substances passing through the at least one flow channel, and the outlet system to extract, on an ongoing basis, the reaction product formed in the flow channel from the substances introduced such that the output mass flow rate corresponding to the sum of the input mass flow rates.

Claims

1. A method for a continuous preparation of organic peroxides comprising:

providing a continuous flow reactor having;

at least one flow channel configured as a reaction zone;

an inlet system in fluid communication with a first end of the at least one flow channel and configured for introducing two or more substances or a combination of substances into the at least one flow channel;

an outlet system in fluid communication with a second end of the at least one flow channel, the second end being located downstream of the first end and the outlet system being configured for extracting reaction products present at the second end; and

an oscillatory system configured for superimposing an oscillatory flow on the flow of substances passing through the at least one flow channel, the oscillatory being effected in at least a section of the at least one flow channel;

(S1) introducing, according to a first time characteristic, at least two substances or a combination of substances into the at least one flow channel using the inlet system,

(S2) superimposing by use of the oscillatory system an oscillatory flow on at least a part of the flow of substances passing through the at least one flow channel to create turbulences in the flow of substances, wherein the substances are reacted in the one flow channel to produce the organic peroxides,

(S3) extracting, on an ongoing basis and by using the outlet system, the reaction products formed in the at least one flow channel from the substances introduced, the output mass flow rate corresponding to the sum of the input mass flow rates.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing a continuous flow reactor comprises providing a reactor further having a temperature control system adapted to control the temperature profile along the length of the at least one flow channel, and wherein the method further comprises a step (S4) of controlling the temperature profile along the at least one flow channel using the temperature control system.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein introducing the at least two substances according to the first time characteristic comprises an introduction of at least one of the two substances in a constant or in a pulsating manner.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein superimposing an oscillatory flow on at least a part of the flow of substances passing through the at least one flow channel comprises a use of an oscillatory system having an oscillatory flow generating device being in fluid communication with the at least one flow channel at a first position and a hydraulic accumulator being in fluid communication with the at least one flow channel at a second position different from the first position.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein providing a continuous flow reactor comprises providing a reactor wherein at least one flow channel comprises a first flow channel and a second flow channel, a first end of the first flow channel being in fluid communication with the inlet system and a second end of the first flow channel being in fluid communication with a first end of the second flow channel, the reactor further comprising a recirculation system configured for reintroducing a portion of the reaction mixture output from the second end of the first flow channel into the first flow channel upstream of its second end, and wherein the method further comprises a step for reintroducing a portion of the reaction mixture output from the second end of the first flow channel into the first flow channel upstream of its second end using the recirculation system.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein providing a continuous flow reactor comprises providing the first flow channel formed by three flow channel modules connected in series, whereby the first flow channel module and the second flow channel module are each formed by split-and-recombine reactor, while the third flow channel module is formed by a meandering channel reactor, and wherein the inlet system is configured to introduce a first substance to a first inlet of the first flow channel module and to introduce a second substance to a first inlet of the second flow channel module, with the outlet of the first flow channel module being in fluid communication with a second inlet of the second flow channel module, the outlet of the second flow channel module being in fluid communication with the inlet of the third flow channel module, and the outlet of the third flow channel module being in fluid communication with a recirculation system configured for reintroducing a portion of the reaction mixture output from the third flow channel module into a second inlet of the first flow channel module.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the recirculation system comprises the oscillatory flow generating device and wherein the hydraulic accumulator is in fluid communication with the second end of the second flow channel.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein controlling the temperature profile along the at least one flow channel using the temperature control system comprises a use of a temperature control system having a first heat exchange system and a second heat exchange system, the first heat exchange system adapted for a heat exchange with the first flow channel and the second heat exchange system adapted for a heat exchange with the second flow channel, for controlling the temperature profile along the first flow channel separate from the temperature profile along the second flow channel.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing a continuous flow reactor comprises providing a reactor further having an additional inlet system configured for introducing one or more substances into the at least one flow channel downstream of its first end.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing a continuous flow reactor comprises providing a reactor wherein the oscillatory system is configured to generate an oscillatory flow having a frequency of between 0.1 Hz and 500 Hz.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing a continuous flow reactor comprises providing a reactor wherein the oscillatory system is configured to generate an oscillatory flow with a maximum flow from a range of 1 to 500 times the average flow rate of the first time characteristic.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the inlet system is further in fluid communication with a preceding reactor and configured for transferring a combination of substances representing a preprocessed reaction mixture from the preceding reactor into the at least one flow channel, and/or wherein the outlet system is further in fluid communication with a subsequent reactor and configured for transferring a reaction product present at the second end to the subsequent reactor.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the organic peroxides prepared are selected from the group consisting of one of the following peroxide classes:

diacyl peroxides, peroxyesters, peroxycarbonate esters, peroxydicarbonates, hydroperoxides, dialkyl peroxides, ketone peroxides, peroxyketals, monoperoxyketals, peroxycarboxylic acids, and mixtures thereof.