(95d) Kinetics of Hydrogen Peroxide Synthesis in a Microreactor by Direct Combination of Oxygen and Hydrogen

Hydrogen peroxide was formed in a packed-bed microreactor in a three-phase process involving the direct combination (DC) of hydrogen and oxygen over a solid catalyst in the presence of a liquid solvent. Hydrogen and air were combined in all proportions, including explosive regime, over a platinum group catalyst supported on an oxide. The DC process comprises multiple reactions involving formation of hydrogen peroxide, parallel formation of water, hydrogen peroxide reduction by hydrogen, and decomposition by disproportionation. Synthesis of hydrogen peroxide was conducted at conditions where the selectivity for H₂O₂ was 100%, so that all reactions except for H₂O₂ synthesis could be neglected. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood rate expression for the synthesis of hydrogen peroxide was determined as part of a program to determine the overall kinetics of hydrogen peroxide formation.