One of your clients is at the preliminary design stage for the manufacture of isopropyltoluene (IP). They have already decided that the chemical reaction that they plan to use is the alkylation of toluene (To) by propene (Pr), and their feasibility study indicates that this is best undertaken in the gas phase at 200 °C, in a tubular reactor. The Client has also identified that the major side reaction is dimerization of Pr to yield methylpentene (MP), and that other minor side reactions are possible.
Although the Client has not allowed their feasibility study to be shared, they have provided an indication of some factors they would like to be considered (given below in red), so that an assessment can be made on how the yield and selectivity of the primary reaction varies with the conversion of propene (ranging from 10% to 40%).
Notes from Client • Mole ratio of To/Pr > 1. • Reactor needs to be fed by a mixture of To, Pr and and inert species in the mole ratio 5 : 1 : 10. • At an operating temperature of 200 °C, the rate constant for the reaction to To with Pr is five times larger that of the dimerization of Pr.
Notes from Team Leader • Is there an ideal reactor that can be used to approximate the tubular reactor?
