Solvay Sa

Stephen Bloomfield

Francine Janssens

Patrick Markus Dhaese

Alain Vandenbussche

Graham E Williams

A process for manufacturing hydrogen peroxide by an anthraquinone autoxidation process (AO-process) comprising two alternate (essential) steps of: (a) hydrogenation of a working solution in a hydrogenation unit in the presence of a catalyst, wherein such working solution contains at least one alkylanthraquinone dissolved in at least one organic solvent, to obtain at least one corresponding alkylanthrahydroquinone compound; and (b) oxidation of the at least one alkylanthrahydroquinone compound to obtain hydrogen peroxide in an oxidation unit; and further comprising the step of: (c) extracting the hydrogen peroxide formed in the oxidation step in an extraction unit, wherein the units of step (a) to (c), optionally together with further ancillary units as appropriate, constitute a hydrogen peroxide production site, wherein one or more of said units are equipped with one or more sensors for monitoring one or more AO-process parameters at the hydrogen peroxide production site, said sensors being interconnected with one or more first computers at the hydrogen peroxide production site, said first computers being linked via a communication network to one or more second computers in a control room being remote from the hydrogen peroxide production site, and said control room being remotely controlling such hydrogen peroxide production site.

Process for producing hydrogen peroxide

The present invention relates to an improved process for manufacturing a purified aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution. The invention further relates to a plant for producing hydrogen peroxide in which the improved process for manufacturing a purified aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution according to the present invention is employed.

Process for manufacturing a purified aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution

A process for manufacturing hydrogen peroxide by an anthraquinone autoxidation process (AO-process) comprising two alternate essential steps of: (a) hydrogenation of a working solution in a hydrogenation unit in the presence of a catalyst, wherein the working solution contains at least one alkylanthraquinone dissolved in at least one organic solvent, to obtain at least one corresponding alkylanthrahydroquinone compound; and (b) oxidation of the at least one alkylanthrahydroquinone compound to obtain hydrogen peroxide in an oxidation unit; and further comprising step (c): extracting the hydrogen peroxide formed in the oxidation step in an extraction unit, wherein the hydrogenation, oxidation and extraction steps are performed in an reactor system which is designed as a compact modular system of a hydrogenation, an oxidation and an extraction unit, and wherein the reactor system is configured to operate without a reversion (regeneration) unit for continuous reversion of the working solution as a small to medium scale AO-process with a production capacity of hydrogen peroxide of up to 20 kilo tons per year, wherein the working solution and/or the catalyst are replaced and/or treated for regeneration or reactivation only intermittently or periodically, e.g., with a low frequency.

Process for the manufacture of a concentrated solution, like a concentrated aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution, by distillation and evaporation of a dilute solution, in which the distillation and the evaporation are carried out in two distinct pieces of equipment which are easy to dismantle and to transport. Aqueous hydrogen peroxide solutions having a concentration of at least 90% are obtainable.

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Tervuren, Belgium

Stephen Bloomfield