Intensified Sulfite Reduction of Alkyl Hydroperoxides in a Rotor-Stator Spinning-Disc Reactor

The reduction oftert-butyl hydroperoxide and cumene hydroperoxide with sodium metabisulfite was intensified in a rotor-stator spinning-disc reactor (rs-SDR). The reaction kinetics were first obtained in a capillary microreactor. The effects of temperature, aqueous phase ionic strength, mass transfer, and liquid-liquid interfacial area were quantified. A kinetic model was developed, and the kinetic parameters were fitted to the experimental data from the microreactor.tert-Butyl hydroperoxide could be reduced much faster than cumene hydroperoxide because of its higher solubility in the aqueous phase. The reduction rate in the rs-SDR was a factor 15-100 higher than that in the microreactor for rotational disc speeds of 1000-4500 rpm, respectively. This was entirely attributed to the increase in liquid-liquid interfacial area in the rs-SDR, which increased approximately linearly with rotational speed.