Wet Oxidation Kinetics of Refractory Low Molecular Mass Carboxylic Acids

Wet oxidation kinetics of aqueous solutions of formic, acetic, oxalic, and glyoxalic acids was studied in a titanium autoclave at a temperature range of 150−320 °C and oxygen partial pressures between 8 and 60 bar. Oxidation reactions obeyed a first-order kinetics with respect to concentration of all substrates. On the basis of acid concentration decay, the activation energy for acetic, oxalic, and glyoxalic acid oxidation was 178, 137, and 97 kJ/mol, respectively; whereas on the total organic carbon (TOC) conversion basis, these values were slightly higher, namely 182, 141, and 104 kJ/mol. The activation energy for formic acid took a unique value of 149 kJ/mol regardless of the type of concentration used. The rate of oxidation was proportional to a square root of oxygen concentration (partial pressure) for acetic, formic, and oxalic acids, whereas it was linearly proportional for glyoxalic acid. When sufficiently high oxygen partial pressure was applied (≥22 bar), the individual acid conversion in a mixture of these acids was well predicted by the rate expression derived for that acid. The lumped TOC concentration of mixtures did not obey a first-order kinetic behavior, although underlying TOC kinetics for each individual acid was linear. The oxidation results are also discussed in a view of speculated reaction pathways and the reactor material.