Continuous Flow Organic Peroxide Production from Alcohols
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current processes for producing organic peroxides, such as peroxycarboxylates, peroxycarbonates, and peroxyketals, are inefficient, unsafe, and require batch operations, leading to accumulation, storage, and transportation risks due to their flammable and explosive nature, with no continuous flow process available for direct production from alcohols or alkanes.
Innovation Solution
An integrated continuous flow process using a plug-and-produce reactor system that seamlessly connects oxidative condensation and workup processes, eliminating the need for intermediate storage and purification, allowing for the direct production of organic peroxides from safe starting materials like alcohols or alkanes, thereby overcoming scaling up effects and ensuring safe, efficient, and flexible production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If batch processes are used for producing organic peroxides, then intermediate products can be stored and transported, but safety risks increase due to accumulation, storage, and transportation of flammable and explosive compounds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a continuous flow process where alcohol or alkane is continuously oxidized to organic peroxide without batch interruptions. The reaction system maintains steady-state operation with continuous material flow through the reactor, eliminating the accumulation and storage of intermediate products that occurs in batch processes. This continuous operation directly addresses the safety concern by preventing the buildup of flammable and explosive compounds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the hazardous intermediate storage and transportation steps from the production process. By designing a continuous flow system where the oxidation reaction proceeds directly to completion and the product is immediately removed, the process removes the dangerous intermediate accumulation phase that characterizes batch operations. This extraction of the hazardous storage step resolves the safety contradiction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If batch processes are used for producing organic peroxides, then production flexibility is maintained, but production efficiency decreases due to batch operations and intermediate purification steps
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous flow process maintains production flexibility while dramatically improving efficiency by eliminating batch cycles. The system can continuously adjust flow rates, temperatures, and reactant ratios to produce different organic peroxide products without the downtime associated with batch cleaning, loading, and setup. The continuous operation removes intermediate purification steps since the steady-state reaction produces consistent quality product directly from the reactor.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary optimization of reaction conditions in the continuous flow system, where steady-state operation allows for precise control and optimization of conversion rates and selectivity before production begins. This preliminary conditioning of the reaction system ensures high efficiency operation without the need for repeated batch setup and optimization cycles.
3Quantity of substance
If conventional oxidation processes are used, then organic peroxides can be produced, but the process requires separation and purification steps that increase complexity and reduce efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous flow oxidation process produces organic peroxide with consistent quality and high purity directly from the reactor due to steady-state operation and optimized reaction conditions. This eliminates the need for complex separation and purification equipment that would be required in batch processes, where product quality can vary between batches and requires extensive post-processing. The continuous system's inherent consistency reduces downstream processing complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of high-quality organic peroxides with reduced costs and enhanced safety by eliminating storage and transportation risks, achieving efficient and flexible manufacturing with stable product quality and reduced production time, suitable for industrial-scale applications.
Implementation Method 1
oxidative condensation and workup processes, allowing for the direct production of organic peroxides from safe starting materials like alcohols or alkanes
Implementation Method 2
An integrated continuous flow process using a plug-and-produce reactor system
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
A continuous flow production process for preparing organic peroxides directly from alcohols or alkanes takes very safe alcohols or alkanes as starting materials, and directly reacts to obtain designated peroxides. The production process is carried out in an integrated continuous flow reactor, and a safe starting source of alcohol or alkane is continuously added at the feed inlet of the integrated continuous flow reactor, and continuously provided with a designated peroxide at the discharge port of the integrated continuous flow reactor.