US 7,012,154 B2Granted

Continuous process for on-site and on-demand production of aqueous peracteic acid

AssigneePeragen Systems Inc.

InventorsMark K. Vineyard, Robert L. Moison, Frederic E. Budde, John R. Walton

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Abstract

Peracetic acid in aqueous liquid solution or vapor phase is prepared on-site and on-demand in a continuous process. Peracetic acid can be produced at a controlled rate to meet the demands of a downstream operation. In one embodiment, a pipe-line reactor and distillation column is used for the production of peracetic acid. In another embodiment, an apparatus includes a continuous pot reactor and distillation column for producing peracetic acid. The present invention has the potential of providing a much safer source of aqueous peracetic acid than currently available processes, due in part to the limited inventories of reactants in the reactor, particularly those in the vapor phase.

Claims51

Dependent claims

A continuous process for producing peracetic acid on-site and on-demand at a controlled rate compatible with the demand for peracetic acid in a downstream operation, the process comprising:

(a) feeding acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, an acid catalyst, and water into a tubular reactor to form a reaction medium;
(b) feeding vapor from the reaction medium into the base of a distillation column, from which product is removed as distillate or effluent;
and
(c) controlling the rate of peracetic acid discharged in an effluent stream from the distillation column so that the rate at which peracetic acid is produced is compatible with the demand for peracetic acid in the downstream operation;
wherein reaction between the acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide occurs primarily in the tubular reactor.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.