A New Continuous Flow Reactor for Simultaneous Reaction and Separation

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Abstract
The acid catalysed hydrolysis of methylformate has been investigated in a continuous flow annular reactor packed with activated charcoal, and equipped with a rotating feed injection port. Chromatographic separation of the products, formic acid and methanol, effectively suppressed the reverse reaction, causing conversions to be significantly greater than the thermodynamic equilibrium conversions that would have been obtained in the absence of separation. Comparisons of numerically simulated reactor performance with experimental results showed good agreement, although some differences occurred as experimentation proceeded, most probably due to deactivation of the activated charcoal.