Downloaded by MONASH UNIV on December 4, 2014 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): November 22, 2013 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2013-1155.ch008
Chapter 8
Incorporation of Oxidation Enhancement through Hydrogen Peroxide Addition into a Tested Mass Transfer/Reaction Model for an Industrial NOx Absorption Process Kyle G. Loutet,*,1 Andres Mahecha-Botero,1,2 Tony Boyd,1 Steven Buchi,1 and Clive M. H. Brereton1 1NORAM
Engineering and Constructors Ltd., 200 Granville Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1S4 2Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3 *E-mail:
[email protected] A comprehensive mass transfer/reaction model was developed in the process simulator Aspen Plus to simulate an industrial NOx absorption process. The model, recently published by the authors, was tested by comparison with data collected at the world-scale Wilton mononitrobenzene plant in Redcar, UK, and the model was found to accurately predict NOx removal. In the current study, an advanced NOx absorption technique, namely the addition of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer to an absorption process, was incorporated into the model in an attempt to quantify improvements in NOx absorption. The use of hydrogen peroxide to enhance NOx absorption processes has been studied in the past, with specific focus on the ability of hydrogen peroxide to oxidize nitric oxide (NO) to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and to oxidize nitrous acid (HNO2) to nitric acid (HNO3). The current study, which focuses on the latter oxidation, finds that the enhanced oxidation of HNO2 shows significant potential for improving NOx absorption.
© 2013 American Chemical Society In Chemistry, Process Design, and Safety for the Nitration Industry; Guggenheim, T.; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2013.
Downloaded by MONASH UNIV on December 4, 2014 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date (Web): November 22, 2013 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2013-1155.ch008
Introduction Industrial NOx absorption, utilized in the manufacture of nitric acid and in the treatment of waste gases from the nitration and other industries, is a complex absorption operation involving numerous gas- and liquid-phase chemical reactions and mass and heat transfer phenomena. Designing NOx columns for the purpose of pollution abatement, both air and water, is of particular interest as industrialized and developing nations become increasingly conscious of their environmental footprints. A reliable and accurate model of NOx absorption operations represents a useful tool to improve designs and ultimately meet and exceed environmental targets for both air and water. In a past study, a rate-based model (i.e. a model that accounts for reaction and mass transfer kinetics) was developed in the process simulator Aspen Plus and tested using data gathered at the world-scale Wilton mononitrobenzene plant in England (1). This model focused on the pressurized, counter-current absorption of NOx into water, resulting in the production of dilute (
