Evaluation of Potential Designs for a Continuous Epoxidation Reactor

A continuous reactor for the epoxidation of soybean oil has been considered in various studies, with various designs. In practice, the existing commercial plants continue to use batch reactors due to capital cost optimization and safety concerns. This article carries out a simulation of a continuous tubular reactor (based on a detailed kinetic model from our previous work), proposing a single addition of all reagents in the absence of catalysts and emulsifiers. The design combines the robust model developed on the basis of bench experiments with industrial experience to evaluate the viability of a continuous flow model. This study provides an analysis of the effects of static mixers in the reaction system, focusing on the safety of the reactor associated with the temperature profile, the quality parameters associated with the epoxidation of vegetable oils (iodine and oxirane indexes), and the acceptable pressure drop. Promising results were obtained from simulations of a proposed reactor design, in which an oxirane index of 5.95% (79.1% net yield of the desired product) was achieved for a 120 min residence time under the most viable conditions.