La/Zn Bimetallic Oxide Catalyst for Epoxidation of Styrene by Cumene Hydroperoxide: Kinetics and Reaction Engineering Aspects

Abstract

Styrene oxide (STOX) is mostly produced by chlorohydrin process that generates large amount of waste. A greener alternative to the chlorohydrin process is epoxidation of styrene induced by hydroperoxides. In this work, we have studied this reaction using cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) as oxygen inducing reagent under the influence of the prepared La–Zn bimetallic oxides, which offered reasonably high catalytic activity in terms of conversion and high selectivity for styrene oxide. The side reactions can be suppressed by a proper choice of reaction conditions and mode of reaction. At a given reactant conversion, semibatch modes of operation exhibits higher styrene and CHP-based product selectivity when compared with its batch counterpart. Parametric studies are performed to examine the effects of temperature (ambient temperature 363 K), catalyst loading (0.25–1%), CHP-to-styrene mole ratio (∼1–3.5), presence of nonreacting solvent, and surface basicity of catalysts. Catalyst deactivation was studied in detail and a plausible way to regenerate the spent catalyst has been advocated. A suitable kinetic model is proposed that explains the trends in product yield, byproduct formation, and catalyst deactivation. Parameters are estimated by nonlinear regression along with 95% confidence interval calculated by bootstrapping technique.

Isobaric Vapor–Liquid Equilibria for Binary Mixtures of 2-Phenylethanol with 1-Phenylethanol, 2-Phenylpropan-2-ol, Ethylbenzene, and Isopropylbenzene at 101.3 kPa

“…It is also utilized in dyes and shampoos to ameliorate the quality of hair . In the industries, 2PEA is produced by the catalytic hydrogenation of styrene oxide (STOX). , To produce STOX, we have developed a novel reaction framework that uses aralkyl hydroperoxides as oxidizing agents . In this process, 1-phenylethanol (1PEA) and 2-phenylpropan-2-ol (2P2P) are produced as coproducts of STOX when hydroperoxides of ethylbenzene (ETB) and isopropylbenzene (IPB) are used as oxygen-inducing reagents, respectively.…”

“…6,7 To produce STOX, we have developed a novel reaction framework that uses aralkyl hydroperoxides as oxidizing agents. 8 In this process, 1phenylethanol (1PEA) and 2-phenylpropan-2-ol (2P2P) are produced as coproducts of STOX when hydroperoxides of ethylbenzene (ETB) and isopropylbenzene (IPB) are used as oxygen-inducing reagents, respectively. Moreover, unconverted alkylbenzenes also remain in the product mixture.…”

Kinetics of One-Pot Regioselective Cohydrogenation of Styrene Oxide and Aryl Alkenes: A Step toward Sustainable Development of a Novel Integrated Process for 2-Phenylethanol Production

“…Currently, most of the STOX is produced by the halohydrin process in industries, which involves corrosive compounds such as halogens, hydrogen halides, styrene halohydrins, and so forth and produces a huge amount of halide salts as waste. 8−10 Our previous work 11 has shown that aralkyl hydroperoxides can be an excellent choice for the production of STOX. In that study, thermal dissociations of aralkyl hydroperoxide and styrene oligomerization were observed to occur as side reactions.…”

Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium Analysis for a Binary System of Acetophenone with 2-Phenylethanol

“…In industries, PEA is produced by catalytic hydrogenation of styrene oxide . In order to produce styrene oxide, cumene hydroperoxide can be used as an oxygen inducing agent . In the process, acetophenone (ACP) is also produced as a side product as a result of thermal decomposition of cumene hydroperoxide.…”

“…2 In order to produce styrene oxide, cumene hydroperoxide can be used as an oxygen inducing agent. 3 In the process, acetophenone (ACP) is also produced as a side product as a result of thermal decomposition of cumene hydroperoxide. As the market demands high purity (>99.9% w/w) of PEA, the separation of PEA from the reaction mixture becomes a very crucial exercise.…”