Continuous process for CO2 cycloaddition reaction in a fixed bed reactor: Kinetic model of reaction transport

Immobilized ionic liquids (ILs) catalysts are often used in fixed bed reactors (FBR) to continuously catalyze the reaction of CO2 and propylene oxide (PO). However, the kinetics and mass transfer characteristics of this reaction in FRB are rarely reported. In this work, two methods were used to calculate the apparent kinetics in FBR, and the apparent kinetics and mass transfer limiting performance were correlated based on the Arrhenius equation. Simultaneously, the reactor model with mass transfer coefficient was established to determine the modified empirical relationship of external mass transfer at low Reynolds number, and the continuous reaction process in FBR was predicted by the relationship between the effective factor (η) of internal mass transfer and the Thiele modulus (Φ). Additionally, the FBR reaction model was verified and compared with the actual experimental data. This study provides a valuable reference for further optimization of FBR configuration and reaction conditions.