(558z) Why is PBR Better than BTR for the Kinetics Studies of Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactions? The Case of Conversion of Fructose to HMF

HMF was obtained from the catalytic fructose dehydration using DMSO as a solvent. All experiments were carried out in a batch tank reactor (BTR) and a continuous packed bed reactor (PBR). Purolite®SGC650H, a gel-type strongly acidic resin, was applied as a catalyst. The behavior of the fructose dehydration reaction for the formation of HMF is favored by an increase in temperature, reduction in feed substrate concentrations and when a continuous reactor (PBR) was used instead of a batch reactor (BTR). The HMF production rates in the PBR were higher because of the effective concentration of the catalyst in the reactor. The reaction’s rate constants obtained through the integral method for the PBR were higher than the ones for the BTR. Although it was possible to obtain essential conclusions from the BTR results, the PBR reactor proved to be more adequate for the kinetic study of heterogeneous catalysts for this system. Since the time needed to reach a given conversion is shorter in the PBR than in the BTR, less interference of series or parallel homogeneous reactions are expected.