Abstract:
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an advantageous method for accelerating the cumene oxidation reaction without the drawbacks of the above-described previously known approaches by utilizing one or more airlift- type tray installed in one or more conventional commercial reactors utilized during the cumene oxidation process. Such a method is of great use in process configurations where it is desirable to achieve a controlled acceleration of the cumene oxidation process without decreasing process selectivity.
Abstract:
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an advantageous non-barbotage method for oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons, that, when implemented in various embodiments thereof, provides significantly higher selectivity, a greater level of safety, Sower capital costs, etc., than conventional oxidation processes utilizing the barbotage technique. The essence of the inventive non-barbotage oxidation process is ensuring that the oxidizing agent delivered to the process reactor undergoes continued contact only with exposed surfaces of the liquid phase of the hydrocarbons being oxidized configured as at least one of: formed liquid phase thin film(s), liquid phase continuous stream(s), and/or liquid phase globule (e.g., droplets, etc.) stream(s), preferably, with the surface area(s) of the exposed surface(s) being maximized to increase contact with an oxidizing agent being directed thereto, to ensure that the inventive oxidation reaction occurs at the border between liquid and gas phases, such that the oxidation reaction effectively occurs by way of contact of the oxidizing agent (e.g., oxygen) from the gas phase with exposed surface(s) of the liquid phase of the hydrocarbons being oxidized. The inventive non-barbotage oxidation process may be implemented in a single reactor, or in plural sequential reactors, and may be implemented both in a stand-alone configuration, and in combination with various conventional barbotage methods for oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons.