Intrinsic kinetics of hydroxylation of benzene to phenol with hydrogen peroxide over TS-1

The preparation of phenol by benzene hydroxylation over TS-1 is a green technology. The intrinsic kinetics of benzene hydroxylation to phenol with hydrogen peroxide over TS-1 was studied. The effects of agitation rate, benzene concentration, hydrogen peroxide concentration and temperature on the initial production rate of phenol were investigated, and the data were fitted by a power function equation. The results showed that when the internal and external diffusion limitations were excluded, the orders of the reaction were 0.62 with respect to benzene and 0.55 with respect to hydrogen peroxide, and the activation energy was 101.31 kJ/mol. According to the above results, the intrinsic kinetic model of benzene hydroxylation over TS-1 was established. The calculated initial production rates of phenol were in good agreement with the experimental results, and the average relative error was 6.81%. The kinetic model obtained provides the basis for the conditions optimization and process development with respect to the coupling between the benzene hydroxylation over TS-1 and the membrane separation.