Alkanes space-time yield

By an industrial investigation of a gas-phase reaction, the chlorination of alkanes, thermal management (faster temperature ramping, avoidance of overshoots) was improved and, hence, control over radical formation was exerted. As a result, a significant increase in space-time yield to about 430 g h 1 was achieved using a hybrid micro-reactor plant compared with the conventional performance of 240 g h [127, 161]. 

The yield vs. space time plots permit to distinguish primary and secondary products. The formation of dimethylpentanes was found to speed up as space time was increased (not shown). At low conversions (space times) the formation rates of the mono-branched C7 isomers and the cracking products (propane and wo-butane) were independent of the space time as shown by the linear plots in Fig. 3. These results suggest that multi-branched C7 isomers were obtained from the primary product methylhexanes and 3-ethylpenthane [7]. Neither hydrogenolysis products, such as methane and ethane, nor >C alkanes, were formed under the applied conditions. 

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