Study on continuous synthesis of oxidation of styrene catalyzed by CoX coupling with membrane separation

Continuous operation of the liquid oxidation of styrene reaction catalyzed very fine CoX catalyst was developed by coupling the suspension system with inorganic membrane separation. The effects of reaction temperature, the amount of catalyst, the amount of solvent and the agitation speed on the reaction and membrane flux are investigated. The results show that the process of membrane separation has no negative effect on the reaction, and the factors influencing membrane flux are attributed to the filling and aggradation of catalyst in membrane. Ultrasonic washing is the best way to the recovery of membrane flux. When the mass ratio of CoX to styrene is 0.16:1, with 3:1 of the volume ratio of solvent to styrene, 800 rpm of agitation speed, 0.03 MPa of transmembrane pressure, and reacting at 100°C for 6 hours, the conversion of styrene can reach 54.3%, and the selectivity of styrene oxide and benzaldehyde can be 51.4% and 31.0%, respectively, with the membrane flux of 28.9 L/m²·h).