Possible industrial applications of the bipolar trickle tower reactor

The use of the bipolar trickle tower reactor as an industrial cell has been investigated, by carrying out in it typical electrochemical reactions which are of technological interest. Thus in the case of tertiary treatment of effluent streams, the oxidation of cyanide, and the deposition of cyan-complexed metals such as copper, cadmium, nickel zinc and lead were examined, as was the removal of chromium and the oxidation of phenol. It was found that the presence of certain heavy metals in solution enhanced the rate of cyanide oxidation. A comparison in performance between this reactor and a graphite packed bed revealed the bipolar trickle tower to be the more suitable reactor for such reactions. In the case of industrial electroorganic synthesis, the bipolar trickle tower was tested in two instances: the first was the reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide to initiate the polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene, and the second was the acetoxylation of mesitylene. In the first case hydrogen peroxide was produced until a stationary concentration was attained in solution, but it was found to be below the requirement of the polymerization reaction. On the other hand, mesityl acetate or 3,5-dimethylbenzyl acetate was obtained in reasonable yield in the acetoxylation reaction, depending on the presence or not of acetate ions in the supporting electrolyte. Comparing these results with those obtained, under the same conditions, in a graphite packed bed in the first case, and in a capillary gap cell in the second, showed that the bipolar trickle tower reactor gave the better performance.