A New Simple Microchannel Device to Test Process Intensification

In the present work, a new laboratory device specifically developed to obtain microchannels to test the process intensification effects on a suitable test reaction will be described. Ideally, this device represents a connection between a traditional tubular packed-bed reactor and the recently appeared microreactors that are very efficient, as it is well-known, in mass- and energy-transfer operations. To test the performance of this microreactor, the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been chosen as a test reaction. This reaction is of great industrial interest, because many processes use H2O2 as an oxidizing agent and the decomposition of the excess is normally performed under batch conditions by creating an alkaline medium. We observed that the H2O2 decomposition can also be promoted by stainless steel acting as a catalyst. Therefore, the decomposition of H2O2 is particularly enhanced in our device that is characterized by a relatively high surface area of stainless steel per unit of packing volume. Consequently, its result is particularly efficient in the chosen reaction. Experimental runs for H2O2 decomposition have been performed preliminarily under batch conditions, both in the homogeneous phase and in the presence of a known amount of metallic surface area as a catalyst, in the temperature range of 65−85 °C, to collect kinetic data. Successively, continuous runs at different temperatures (50−65 °C) and pH have been performed in the microchannel device, obtaining good performances and maintaining safety conditions. The obtained results have been interpreted and successfully simulated in a simplified way.