Using Heats of Reaction

In the first part of this chapter, we looked at the basic properties of the heat of reaction and how to measure it. Now we want to find how heats of reaction can be used. We will see that the AH for one reaction can be obtained liom the A// s of other reactions. This means that we can tabulate a small number of values and use them to calculate others. 

Enthalpy, you may recall, is a state function (Section 6.3). This means that the enthalpy change for a chemical reaction is independent of the path by which the products are obtained. In 1840, the Russian chemist Germain Henri Hess, a professor at the University of St. Petersburg, discovered this result by experiment. Hess s law of 

To understand Hess s law fully and to see how you can use it, consider a simple example. Suppose you would like to find the enthalpy change for the combustion of graphite (carbon) to carbon monoxide. 

The answer is to apply Hess s law. To do this, imagine that the combustion of graphite to carbon monoxide takes place in two separate steps  

According to Hess s law, the enthalpy change for the overall equation (which is the equation you want) equals the sum of the enthalpy changes for the two steps. Now you need to determine the enthalpy changes for the separate steps. 

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Flame temperatures can be measured directly, using special high-temperature optical methods. They can also be calculated (estimated) using heat of reaction data and thermochemical values for heat of fusion and vaporization, heat capacity, and transition temperatures. Calculated values tend to be higher than the actual experimental results, due to heat loss to the surroundings as well as the endothermic decomposition of some of the reaction products. Details regarding these calculations, with several examples, have been published [5]. 

A number of studies using heats of reaction have shown that a more highly substituted alkene is more stable than a less highly substituted alkene. Therefore, the general order of stability for compounds containing carbon-carbon double bonds is... 

In this section, we see how Hess s law is used to determine the AH values of an enormous number of reactions. To begin we must take into account that thermodynamic variables, such as AH, vary somewhat with conditions. Therefore, to use heats of reaction, as well as other thermodynamic data that we will encounter in later chapters, chemists have established standard states, a set of specified conditions and concentrations ... 

Flame tanperatmes can be measured directly, using special high-temperature optical methods. They can also be calculated (estimated) using heat of reaction... 

If indirect heat transfer is used with a large temperature difference to promote high rates of cooling, then the cooling fluid (e.g., boiling water) is fixed by process requirements. In this case, the heat of reaction is not available at the temperature of the reactor effluent. Rather, the heat of reaction becomes available at the temperature of the quench fluid. Thus the feed stream to the reactor is a cold stream, the quench fluid is a hot stream, and the reactor effluent after the quench is also a hot stream. 

Using this equation it is possible to calculate heats of reaction from the variation of AG with temperature. 

Semiempirical methods are parameterized to reproduce various results. Most often, geometry and energy (usually the heat of formation) are used. Some researchers have extended this by including dipole moments, heats of reaction, and ionization potentials in the parameterization set. A few methods have been parameterized to reproduce a specific property, such as electronic spectra or NMR chemical shifts. Semiempirical calculations can be used to compute properties other than those in the parameterization set. 

Chemical Reaction Measurements. Experimental studies of incineration kinetics have been described (37—39), where the waste species is generally introduced as a gas in a large excess of oxidant so that the oxidant concentration is constant, and the heat of reaction is negligible compared to the heat flux required to maintain the reacting mixture at temperature. The reaction is conducted in an externally heated reactor so that the temperature can be controlled to a known value and both oxidant concentration and temperature can be easily varied. The experimental reactor is generally a long tube of small diameter so that the residence time is well defined and axial dispersion may be neglected as a source of variation. Off-gas analysis is used to track both the disappearance of the feed material and the appearance and disappearance of any products of incomplete combustion. 

Butane-Based Fixed-Bed Process Technology. Maleic anhydride is produced by reaction of butane with oxygen using the vanadium phosphoms oxide heterogeneous catalyst discussed earlier. The butane oxidation reaction to produce maleic anhydride is very exothermic. The main reaction by-products are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Stoichiometries and heats of reaction for the three principal reactions are as follows ... 

Nitrations are highly exothermic, ie, ca 126 kj/mol (30 kcal/mol). However, the heat of reaction varies with the hydrocarbon that is nitrated. The mechanism of a nitration depends on the reactants and the operating conditions. The reactions usually are either ionic or free-radical. Ionic nitrations are commonly used for aromatics many heterocycHcs hydroxyl compounds, eg, simple alcohols, glycols, glycerol, and cellulose and amines. Nitration of paraffins, cycloparaffins, and olefins frequentiy involves a free-radical reaction. Aromatic compounds and other hydrocarbons sometimes can be nitrated by free-radical reactions, but generally such reactions are less successful. 

In the last few years several modifications to the traditional mixed acid nitration procedure have been reported. An adiabatic nitration process was developed for the production of nitrobenzene (9). This method eliminated the need to remove the heat of reaction by excessive cooling. The excess heat can be used in the sulfuric acid reconcentration step. An additional advantage of this method is the reduction in reaction times to 0.5—7.5 minutes. 

Another concentration method involves passing an inert gas such as N2 or CO2 through the reaction medium (12). As the gas passes through, it becomes humidified and carries captured water with it. Most of the energy required for the gas humidification comes from the heat of reaction. An advantage is that expensive drying equipment is not needed. Also, the sulfuric acid mist formed in typical concentrators is minimized. Du Pont uses a similar process in its nitrobenzene production faciUty. 

Gas-phase polymerization of propylene was pioneered by BASF, who developed the Novolen process which uses stirred-bed reactors (Fig. 8) (125). Unreacted monomer is condensed and recycled to the polymerizer, providing additional removal of the heat of reaction. As in the early Hquid-phase systems, post-reactor treatment of the polymer is required to remove catalyst residues (126). The high content of atactic polymer in the final product limits its usefiilness in many markets. 

Because the product is decomposed by heat, it is essential either to remove the heat of reaction quickly or to use the product quickly. The first option is known as the isothermal process the second option, perfected and commerciali2ed ia the early 1990s (63,64), is known as the adiabatic process. 

Potassium superoxide is produced commercially by spraying molten potassium iato an air stream, which may be enriched with oxygen. Excess air is used to dissipate the heat of reaction and to maintain the temperature at ca 300°C. It can also be prepared ia a highly pure state by oxidizing potassium metal that is dissolved ia Hquid ammonia at —50° C. 

Novolak Resins. In a conventional novolak process, molten phenol is placed into the reactor, foHowed by a precise amount of acid catalyst. The formaldehyde solution is added at a temperature near 90°C and a formaldehyde-to-phenol molar ratio of 0.75 1 to 0.85 1. For safety reasons, slow continuous or stepwise addition of formaldehyde is preferred over adding the entire charge at once. Reaction enthalpy has been reported to be above 80 kj /mol (19 kcal/mol) (29,30). The heat of reaction is removed by refluxing the water combined with the formaldehyde or by using a small amount of a volatile solvent such as toluene. Toluene and xylene are used for azeotropic distillation. FoHowing decantation, the toluene or xylene is returned to the reactor. 

Eigure 3 is a flow diagram which gives an example of the commercial practice of the Dynamit Nobel process (73). -Xylene, air, and catalyst are fed continuously to the oxidation reactor where they are joined with recycle methyl -toluate. Typically, the catalyst is a cobalt salt, but cobalt and manganese are also used in combination. Titanium or other expensive metallurgy is not required because bromine and acetic acid are not used. The oxidation reactor is maintained at 140—180°C and 500—800 kPa (5—8 atm). The heat of reaction is removed by vaporization of water and excess -xylene these are condensed, water is separated, and -xylene is returned continuously (72,74). Cooling coils can also be used (70). 

Among continuous reactors, the dominant system used to produce parasubstituted alkylphenols is a fixed-bed reactor holding a soHd acid catalyst. Figure 3 shows an example of this type of reactor. The phenol and alkene are premixed and heated or cooled to the desired feed temperature. This mix is fed to the reactor where it contacts the porous soHd, acid-impregnated catalyst. A key design consideration for this type of reactor is the removal of the heat of reaction. 

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