Liquid holdup and mass transfer rates were measured in a 2.58‐cm I.D. tube, packed with glass beads and granular CuO · ZnO catalyst or β‐naphthol particles, and operated as a trickle bed. Gas‐to‐liquid (water) transport coefficients were determined from absorption and desorption experiments with oxygen at 25°C and 1 atm. Liquid‐to‐particle mass transfer was studied using β‐naphthol particles. Holdup and both mass transfer coefficients were unaffected by gas flow rate but increased with liquid rate. The data were correlated with equations that could be used for predicting mass transfer coefficients at high temperatures and pressures for use in the reaction studies reported in Part II.

Catalytic oxidation of phenol in aqueous solution over supported copper oxide by oxygen was studied both in a slurry reactor and in a rotating catalytic basket reactor (RCBR). When the experiments in a RCBR were repeated two or three times at the same operating conditions, the catalytic activity became stable and the kinetics of phenol consumption were determined. The intermediates of phenol oxidation were identified as hydroquinone, pyrocatechol, maleic acid, and oxalic acid by a liquid chromatographic technique.

No abstract

No abstract