Abstract

The commercial synthesis of nicotinamide - an important nutritional chemical has been carried out via the alkaline hydrolysis of nicotinonitrile in aqueous medium. The reaction system consists of two consecutive reactions exhibiting second order kinetics (substrate and hydroxyl ion concentrations): ▪ While the role of the base is catalytic for the desired reaction, the consecutive formation of nicotinate ion depletes the base concentration. In producing pharmaceutical grade nicotinamide, it is essential to optimize selectivity without reducing conversion through premature depletion of the base. This is made possible by choosing the.optimal catalyst concentration via kinetic analysis of the reaction system in the domain of the time variable S[OH −]dt. Thus, optimal selectivity and conversion can be obtained strictly through operating temperature, without need for multiple catalyst additions or concern about residence time control. As a result, continuous reaction design and operation are greatly facilitated. The kinetic analysis and the resulting reaction design criteria are presented, and an analysis of the actual plant performance in a commercial scale is discussed. The latter results are compared with plant performance of a different commercial process based on multiple catalyst additions to a continuous tubular reactor.

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