Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an important green chemical that has been widely used in industrial fields such as papermaking, textiles, and wastewater treatment. As an environmentally friendly chemical substitute for chlorine, it has the ability to neutralize harmful pollutants in industrial waste and wastewater streams. According to the survey, the global market demand for H2O2 will reach 6000 tons in 2024. The common method used to produce H2O2 is an automatic oxidation process, which uses a working solution (usually an alkylquinone in an organic solution) to produce peroxide, which is extracted by contact with deionized water. Alfa Chemistry provides efficient and reliable filtration and separation solutions for your H2O2 production process.
Filtration and Separation Solutions for H2O2 Production
Effective filtration is an important part of the hydrogen peroxide production process. Unreliable filtration solutions will directly affect process yield, economy, and operational safety.
Figure.1 Applications of H2O2 in industrial manufacturing. (Liu J. L, et al. 2019)
Use alkyl quinone organic working solution as a raw material to produce hydrogen peroxide. In the first step of the process, the working solution is reduced in the presence of a catalyst in the hydrogenation reactor. The reduced working solution is filtered through 2 or 3 stages to remove and recover valuable catalysts. It is then sent to an oxidation reactor, where the air is blown in to produce hydrogen peroxide and the original working solution (raw material). The mixture is separated in a water extractor to obtain a dilute solution of crude hydrogen peroxide. The working solution feedstock is purified and recycled back to the hydrogenation reactor. Finally, the crude peroxide solution is distilled to reach the final product grade.
Advances in filtration and separation technology have been successfully applied to hydrogen peroxide production. Our filtration solutions can increase the production of hydrogen peroxide in the following different steps.
Primary Catalyst Recovery
We recommend using Alfa Chemistry filters for backwashing applications to remove and recover valuable catalysts from the reduced working solution. The type of filter media is carefully selected to suit the characteristics of the catalyst: particle size distribution, type, and concentration in each process. Through our products, customers can save money with catalyst retention rates exceeding 99.9% and long-lasting elements.
Secondary and Tertiary Catalyst Recovery
It is very important to completely remove any remaining catalyst from the reduced working solution to avoid uncontrolled chemical reactions. Some Alfa Chemistry high-flow filter products can be used. The type and grade of the filter may vary depending on the process licensor and the catalyst used.
Figure.2 Hydrogen peroxide production process.
Remove The Water Phase from The Raw Material
It is important to remove the water phase from the circulating working solution used as a raw material to prevent the catalyst in the hydrogenator from deactivation. For this step in the process, we recommend Alfa Chemistry's L/L coalescer system to remove water.
Removal of Organic Matter from Crude H2O2
It is important to remove organics from the hydrogen peroxide solution for purification before distillation. As with the previous steps/procedures, we utilize Alfa Chemistry's L/L coalescer system.
Final Product Purification
Hydrogen peroxide is shipped in a variety of grades and concentrations. After distillation, the final product is filtered to ensure product quality and then loaded into tankers or drums for shipment. The end use of the product determines the level of filtration required. The product we recommend to you is 0.1 to 1 μm filters, they can provide filtration levels that can meet the specifications of the final product.
To learn more about our advanced filtration solutions, please contact one of our filtration experts for more information.
Reference
- Liu J. L, et al. (2019). "Hydrogen Peroxide Production from Solar Water Oxidation." ACS Energy Lett. 4(12): 3018-3027.