Ultrasound assisted synthesis of performic acid in a continuous flow microstructured reactor

•Microstructured reactor for the preparation of PFA in the presence of ultrasound.•The effect of various parameters was studied on the formation of PFA.•Enhancement in the reaction rate due to the formation of H2O2 in the presence of cavitational events.•Lesser reaction time compared to that of conventional batch reactors. The present work establishes in depth study of ultrasound assisted preparation of performic acid (PFA) in a continuous flow microstructured reactor. The influence of various parameters viz. formic acid: hydrogen peroxide molar ratio, flow rate, temperature and catalyst loading on the PFA formation were studied in a continuous flow microstructured reactor. In a continuous microstructured reactor in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation, the formation of PFA was found to be dependent on the molar ratio of formic acid: hydrogen peroxide, flow rate of reactants, temperature and catalyst loading (Amberlite IR-120H). The optimized parameter values are 1:1M ratio, 50mL/h, 40°C and 471mg/cm3 respectively. Further, the performance of Amberlite IR-120H catalyst was evaluated for three successive cycles in continuous microstructured reactor. The performance of catalyst was found to be decreased with the usage of the catalyst and is attributed to neutralization of the sulfonic acid groups, catalyst shrinkage, or loss in pore sites. The experimental results revealed that, for an ultrasound assisted synthesis of PFA in continuous microstructured reactor the observed reaction time was even less than 10min. The observed intensification in the PFA synthesis process can be attributed to the intense collapse of the cavities formed at low temperature during ultrasonic irradiations, which further improved the heat and mass transfer rates with the formation of H2O2 during the reaction. The combined use of ultrasound and a continuous flow microstructured reactor has proved beneficial process of performic acid synthesis.