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Scaling Up Gas-Liquid Photo-Oxidations in Flow Using Rotor-Stator Spinning Disc Reactors and a High-Intensity Light
Arnab Chaudhuri1, Wouter F C de Groot1, Jasper H A Schuurmans2
1Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Sustainable Process Engineering, University of Technology (TU/e), Eindhoven 5612 AZ, The Netherlands.
Organic Process Research & Development
|February 27, 2025
Summary
Scaling photochemical reactions in gas-liquid systems is challenging. This study enhanced a photochemical rotor-stator spinning disc reactor (pRS-SDR) with a high-powered light source, achieving significant productivity gains for photooxidation processes.
Area of Science:
- Chemical Engineering
- Photochemistry
- Process Intensification
Background:
- Photochemical transformations offer unique reaction pathways under mild conditions.
- Scaling photochemical processes, especially in multiphase systems, presents significant engineering challenges.
- Previous work established the photochemical rotor-stator spinning disc reactor (pRS-SDR) for photooxidation but was limited by light source intensity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To enhance the scalability of photochemical reactions using an intensified reactor.
- To investigate the impact of a high-powered light source on the performance of the pRS-SDR.
- To evaluate the reactor's capabilities for gas-liquid multiphase photochemical processes.
Main Methods:
- Integration of a high-powered light source (up to 652 W optical output) into the pRS-SDR.
- Performance evaluation using the photooxidation of α-terpinene to ascaridole.
- Assessment of gas-liquid mass transfer rates and reaction productivity under high irradiance.
- Testing with the photooxidation of β-citronellol to identify reaction-specific limitations.
Main Results:
- Significant productivity improvements were achieved, reaching 16.3 kg day⁻¹ at 92% α-terpinene conversion.
- High irradiance (2.52 W cm⁻²) in a small irradiated volume (27 mL) enabled an order of magnitude increase in productivity compared to previous studies.
- The high gas-liquid mass transfer rates in the pRS-SDR are crucial for high-intensity photochemical operations.
- The photooxidation of β-citronellol revealed limitations, emphasizing the need for careful reaction selection.
Conclusions:
- The enhanced pRS-SDR with a high-powered light source significantly boosts productivity for scalable photochemical synthesis.
- High gas-liquid mass transfer is key to overcoming photon-limited regimes in intensified photochemical reactors.
- The choice of model reaction is critical for accurately evaluating the performance of novel photochemical reactor designs.
