Heat Pipe-Mediated Control of Fast and Highly Exothermal Reactions

The synthesis of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl-sulfate ([EMIM]EtSO4) from 1-methyl-imidazole and diethyl sulfate suffers from highly exothermal behavior. Once the activation energy barrier is reached (EA = 89 kJ mol–1), the bimolecular reaction accelerates with a high reaction enthalpy (ΔH = −130 kJ mol–1).(1-3) The excess of heat has to be concurrently dissipated to avoid hot spots or thermal runaways. Depending on the volume flow velocity of the reactants and the applied reactor temperature, the reaction zone can be shifted inside the reactor from the inlet to the outlet and vice versa. Therefore, a sophisticated thermal control, oscillating between providing activation energy and int…