Robinson-Mahoney reactor

The concept of supported IL catalysis depicted in Figure 1 has recently been introduced [22]. Preparation of the supported IL catalyst involved dissolving [Rh(nbd)(PPh3)2][PFg] in a mixture of [BMlM][PFg] and acetone, followed by addition of silica gel. The acetone was removed under vacuum, leaving the catalyst in which the IL and rhodium catalyst were immobilized on the silica support. The catalyst was used in a Robinson-Mahoney reactor to hydrogenate 1-hexene, cyclohexene and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene. Moderate to excellent yields could be obtained and 18 batch runs without significant loss of activity were achieved. Compared with liquid-liquid biphasic catalysis the amount of IL required was drastically reduced. 

The three-phase Robinson-Mahoney reactor (a continuous gas and liquid flow) consisted of a fixed catalyst basket and a magnetic stirrer. The reactor system was automated to ensure reliable and reproducible experiments. Liquid samples of the product stream were taken by an automatic on-line valve and analysed by a gas chromatograph with fused silica capillary column and FI detector. Detailed information on the apparatus [11] and the hydrogenation procedure can be found elsewhere [10]. Gas-liquid and liquid-solid mass transfer resistance were avoided by adjusting the agitation and catalyst loading. An intraparticle mass transfer resistance could not be avoided and this was added to the reactor model in parameter estimation [11]. 

Robinson Mahoney reactor-radial flow basket... 

Mahoney, J.A. Robinson, K. Meyers, E. Catalyst evaluation with the gradientless reactor. CHEMTECH 1978, Dec, 758. 

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