Reaction Kinetics and Reactive Distillation - On the Transfer of Kinetic Data from a Batch Reactor to a Trickle-bed Reactor

The design of reactive distillation processes requires besides the knowledge of phase equilibrium data reliable kinetic data. This paper presents the results of kinetic measurements of acetic acid esterification with methanol together with results for the backward reaction, the hydrolysis of methyl acetate, both catalyzed by the macroreticular, strongly acidic ion-exchange resin Amberlyst 15. Microkinetic parameters are determined from batch experiments in a thermostated stirred tank reactor. The applicability of the derived kinetics is checked against experimental results obtained in a trickle-bed reactor.