Kinetics of 2-Methyl-6-acetyl-naphthalene Liquid Phase Catalytic Oxidation

In this paper, a kinetics model for the liquid-phase oxidation of 2-methyl-6-acetyl-naphthalene to 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid catalyzed by cobalt-manganese-bromide is proposed. The effects of the reaction temperature, catalyst concentration and ratio of catalyst on the time evolution of the experimental concentration for theconstituents including raw material, intermediates and product are investigated. The model parameters are determined in a nonlinear optimization, minimizing the difference between the simulated and experimental time evolution of the product composition obtained in a semi-batch oxidation reactor where the gas and liquid phase were well mixed. Thekinetics data demonstrate that the model is suitable to the liquid-phase oxidation of 2-methyl-6-acetyl-naphthalene to 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid.