(159e) Assessment of Hazards for Green Oxidation of Secondary Alcohols with Hydrogen Peroxide

The oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds is important in the fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. Traditional methods are either energy intensive or harmful to the environment due to employing strong oxidizing agents, which are usually hazardous and toxic. Therefore, hydrogen peroxide solution as an ideal oxidant has drawn much attention. Many studies have been published on green oxidation of secondary alcohol using hydrogen peroxide. However, there has been little discussion on safety concerns for scale-up regarding these reaction systems, which has runaway potential. Thus, this work seeks to conduct a comprehensive study of thermal and kinetic behavior of selected two liquid phase catalytic green oxidation reaction system using calorimetry techniques, including Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Phi-TEC II adiabatic calorimeter and RC1e isothermal calorimeter. Results for both normal operating conditions and upset conditions are presented. Safety issues and possible reaction pathway are discussed. The findings can be further used for hazard assessment of similar green oxidation reaction systems for safer design purpose.