Multistage Extractive Reaction for Hydrogen Peroxide Production by Anthraquinone Process

The extractive reaction process of oxygen-working solution-water three-phase system for the production of hydrogen peroxide by the anthraquinone method was investigated in a sieve plate column of 50 mm in internal diameter. The oxidation reaction of anthrahydroquinone in the working solution with oxygen and the extraction of hydrogen peroxide from the working solution into aqueous phase occurred simultaneously in the countercurrent mode. The agitating effect caused by gaseous phase made the droplets of the dispersed phase become smaller, thus, increasing the liquid-liquid interfacial contact areas and resulting in the improvement of the mass transfer velocity. Results showed that the gas-agitation had a beneficial effect on the extraction of hydrogen peroxide from the working solution into the aqueous phase; the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the raffinate decreased with the increase of the gaseous superficial velocities; and the concentration of H2O2 in the raffinate increased with the increase of the dispersed phase superficial velocity at the same superficial velocity of the gaseous phase. In the G-L-L extractive reaction process, with the increase of the gaseous superficial velocities, both the conversion of the anthrahydroquinone oxidation and the extraction efficiency of hydrogen peroxide first increased significantly, then increased gradually.