Studying the Synthesis of Nitrous Oxide in a Microstructured Split-Flow Reactor

This work is devoted to the mathematical modeling of N₂O synthesis via NH₃ oxidation on a Mn/Bi/Al oxide catalyst in a microstructured split-flow reactor (MSR). The characteristics of the process are studied at different linear flow velocities, inlet ammonia concentrations, and reactor edge temperatures. Parameters are determined that endure an efficient process in the microstructured reactor under thermally admissible conditions. The possibility is shown of scaling the MSR by multiplying its geometric dimensions with no overheating in the reaction zone. Results show that in a microstructured reactor with such a configuration, the capacity for producing N₂О can be increased by around 12 times, relative to the best performance characteristics of a conventional microreactor, and the catalyst’s specific production capacity is approximately 1.5 times higher than in a traditional tubular reactor. This allows the creation of low-tonnage plants for producing high-purity nitrous oxide for different applications by scaling microreactor systems. The results in this work correspond to the concept of distributed chemicalization and contribute to overcoming the barrier between laboratory catalytic reactors and industrial-level devices.