Oxidation of benzyl alcohols to ketones and aldehydes by O3 process enhanced using high-gravity technology

In this study,a practical process for ozonization of benzyl alcohols to ketones and aldehydes in a rotating packed bed(RPB-O3)reactor has been developed.Using 1-phenylethanol as a model reactant,the performance of RPB-O3 process in different solvents has been compared with the commonly used stirred tank reactor(STR-O3).Ethyl acetate was the optimum solvent for the conversion of 1-phenylenthanol to acetophenone in RPB-O3 process,with 78%yield after 30 min.In a parallel STR-O3 experiment,the yield of acetophenone was50%.Other experimental variables,i.e.O3 concentration,reaction time,high-gravity factor and liquid flow rate were also optimized.The highest yield of acetophenone was obtained using O3 concentration of 80 mg·L-1,reaction time of 30 min,high gravity factor of 40 and liquid flow rate of 120 L·h-1.Under the optimized reaction conditions,a series of structurally diverse primary and secondary alcohols was oxidized with(19%–92%)yield.The ozonization mechanism was studied by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance(EPR)spectroscopy,monitoring the radical species formed upon self-decomposition of O3.The characteristic quadruple peak with the 1:2:2:1 intensity ratio that corresponds to hydroxyl radicals(·OH)was observed in the electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR)spectrum,indicating an indirect oxidation mechanism of alcohols via·OH radical.