Liquid−Solid Mass Transfer and Reaction in a Rotor−Stator Spinning Disc Reactor

Abstract

The heterogeneously catalyzed oxidation of glucose is performed in a rotor−stator spinning disk reactor. One side of the rotor is coated with a Pt/C and Nafion catalytic layer, resulting in a liquid−solid interfacial area of 274 mi2 mR−3. At the lowest rotational disk speed, 26 rad s−1, the reaction is liquid−solid mass transfer limited; at the highest rotational disk speed, 180 rad s−1, the intrinsic kinetics are rate determining. The experimental overall reaction rates are fitted with a resistances in series model, with the activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and volumetric liquid−solid mass transfer coefficient as parameters. The volumetric liquid−solid mass transfer coefficient, kLSaLS, increases from 0.02 to 0.22 mL3 mR−3 s−1 for a rotational disk speed of 26 to 157 rad s−1. These values are high in comparison to conventional reactors, like packed beds, in spite of the low liquid−solid interfacial area used in this study. The values of the liquid−solid mass transfer coefficient kLS are 1 order...