Conceptual design of novel self-heating reactors for bisphenol A (BPA) synthesis with improved performance

Abstract

This work proposes a novel conceptual design of bisphenol A (BPA) reactors that can prevent crystallization of BPA during reaction by introducing heat pipes or an acetone evaporator into the fixed bed reactor such that the bed temperature distribution can be adjusted via exploiting the reaction heat. Four reactor models describing the spatial distributions of concentration and temperature in the bed are developed for the conventional fixed bed reactor and three improved types, respectively. The validity of the present new designs is demonstrated by simulation covering industrially relevant conditions and the results show that the addition of an acetone evaporator significantly improves the production conditions and reduce energy consumption without decreasing the conversion.