Kinetic study on the synthesis of ethyl nitrite by the reaction of C2H5OH, O2, and NO in a trickle bed reactor

Abstract: The synthesis of ethyl nitrite by the reaction of C2H5OH, O2, and NO, called the regeneration reaction in the synthesis of ethylene glycol (EG) by the coupling reaction-hydrogenation process, is carried out in a trickle bed reactor filled with θ-mesh rings at 313–343K and atmospheric pressure. It is shown that the conversion of O2 increases with the NO/O2 and the EtOH/NO molar ratios, and decreases with the N2 volume fraction and the liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV). O2 conversion reaches a maximum (∼90.9%) at 333K, NO/O2 molar ratio of 6:1, EtOH/NO molar ratio of 3:1, N2 volume fraction of 50%, and LHSV of 2.65h−1. The synthesis reaction is a fast one and takes place in a liquid film. A kinetics model based on the two-film model of gas–liquid reaction is proposed. The experiment data fit the kinetics model very well and statistical tests also show their reliability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]