Reaction Coupled Transport and Hydrodynamics in a Phase Transfer Catalysis

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This project is an investigation of reaction-coupled transport associated with PTC (phase-transfer catalysis). The general objectives are to develop and employ novel contacting devices, based on rotating-disk hydrodynamics, to investigate the chemical-kinetic and transport mechanisms which govern the rate of PTC. Specific projects are: 1) to continue current studies of solid-liquid PTC over a rotating disk 2) to develop a novel fluid-fluid contacting device, for which a theory is already worked out, and to employ it to investigate liquid-liquid PTC, and 3) to carry out several exploratory studies of novel applications and membrane-based energy transduction based on PTC. To date, PTC has been studied mainly by chemists, who have now discovered hundreds of new organic synthesis having potential industrial importance. At present, not enough quantitative knowledge is available on chemical mechanisms and rates to allow for systematic chemical-reaction engineering and scale-up of PTC systems. The novelty in this approach resides in the development and use of contacting devices with hydrodynamically variable mass transfer characteristics to study PTC kinetics and mass transfer. The proposed research is expected to have an impact on 1) the basic scientific understanding of PTC, 2) the reaction engineering and scale-up of PTC reactions, and 3) new applications of PTC to the coupling of reaction and transport processes ("phoretochemistry"). In addition, the proposed development of a novel fluid-fluid contacting device with uniform interface would contribute to numerous other branches of physicochemical hydrodynamics.