(336c) Development of a Langmuir-Hinshelwood Kinetic Model for Bisphenol-a Synthesis Catalyzed By Strong Acid Cation Exchange Resin | AIChE

(336c) Development of a Langmuir-Hinshelwood Kinetic Model for Bisphenol-a Synthesis Catalyzed By Strong Acid Cation Exchange Resin

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Development of a Langmuir-Hinshelwood Kinetic Model for Bisphenol-A Synthesis catalyzed by strong acid cation exchange resin

Dahai Gao, Dan Hickman, Trisha Costeux, Steve Rosenberg

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an important chemical employed to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. This compound is synthesized by the condensation of acetone with two equivalents of phenol. A strong acid ion exchange resin catalyzes the reaction. The catalytic resin used in BPA production comprises a polystyrene polymer cross-linked with divinylbenzene and sulfonated to create the acid catalytic sites. To further improve catalytic activities and selectivities, promoters with thiol functional groups are loaded onto ion exchange catalysts. Most BPA catalyst studies have focused on the measurement of activity and selectivity at given conditions. However, limited reports describe the reaction kinetics or propose reaction mechanisms.

This study delivers a kinetic model for BPA synthesis catalyzed by ion exchange resins based on a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. Bayesian parameter estimation with batch reaction data provides reaction rate constants and adsorption coefficients. The kinetic model  1) provides support for fundamental hypotheses explaining the higher activity and selectivity of the promoted resin; 2) quantifies the extent of water inhibition on BPA synthesis for different catalysts; 3) quantifies the improvement of the promoted resin compared to non-promoted resins; and 4) quantifies changes in the activation energies of different reactions following the addition of promoters.

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