(306b) Kinetic Modeling and Mass Transfer Effects in Homogeneous Catalytic Hydroformylation of 1-Octene in Co2 – Expanded Solvent

Hydroformylation reaction converts olefinic petrochemicals into oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds, i.e. aldehydes, which are important for the production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. CO2 ? expanded liquids (CXLs) combine the reaction benefits of organic solvents and the environmental benefits of compressed CO2, and this makes CXLs very suitable as environmentally benign reaction media. Much higher turnover numbers (TON) for aldehyde formation can be obtained with CXL as the reaction media compared to neat solvent. The higher TON in CXLs is attributed to enhanced syngas solubility in CXL. But kinetic parameters for hydroformylation of 1-octene in this relatively new class of solvent are currently not available. Estimation of reliable kinetic parameters is essential for scale-up and operation of these reactors. The purpose of this work is to develop a model for two-phase semi-batch hydroformylation reactor that will incorporate mass transfer, kinetics and phase equilibrium. The temporal concentration profiles obtained using an insitu ReactIR probe will be used to obtain the required kinetic constants for the hydroformylation of 1-octene in CO2-expanded solvent using an Orthogonal Distance Regression Technique (ODRPACK). The effects of mass transfer and other operating parameters on the performance of such reactors will also be studied and presented.