Page 187 - Design of Simple and Robust Process Plants
P. 187
172 Chapter 5 Process Simplification and Intensification Techniques
Hydrogen Oxygen
Hydrogenation Oxidation
Water
Regeneration Extraction
Working fluid Finishing
Aqueous
solution
Hydrogen
peroxide
Fig. 5.25. Production of hydrogen peroxide by anthraquinone
process (Ref. Turunen, with permission of BHR publ.).
Working fluid
Oxygen
Fig. 5.26. Tubular reactor for oxidation (Ref. Turunen, with
permission of BHR publ.).
. Packed columns are another option used when the catalyst is in pellet form,
and gas and liquid flow are either co-current or counter-currently operated.
The hydrogenation reactions are both rapid and strongly exothermic, and are limited
by mass transfer in conventional reactors.
Different options were experienced to intensify the reactors, although it should be
realized that a very wide range of hydrogenation applications exist, from the selec-
tive hydrogenation of acetylenes in hydrocarbon streams to the total hydrogenation
of nitro-aromatic compounds and many others. Here, the discussion is limited to