How is Hydrogen Peroxide Produced
Effective filtration is an important part of the hydrogen peroxide production process. Unreliable filtration solutions have a direct impact upon process yield, economy and safety of operations.
Hydrogen peroxide is produced using an alkyl quinone organic working solution as the feedstock. In the first step of the process, the working solution is reduced in a hydrogenation reactor, in the presence of a catalyst. The reduced working solution goes through 2 or 3 stages of filtration to remove and recover the precious catalyst. It is then fed into an oxidation reactor where air is blown through, producing hydrogen peroxide and the original working solution (feedstock). The mixture is separated in a water extractor yielding 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 undergoes distillation to achieve the final product grade.
Advances in filtration and separation technology have been successfully applied in hydrogen peroxide production. Our hydrogen peroxide filtration systems and separation solutions offer to enhance production across the different steps of the process:
How Filtration Supports the Production of Hydrogen Peroxide
Primary Catalyst Recovery
To remove and recover the precious catalyst from the reduced working solution after it leaves the hydrogenator, we recommend Pall PSS® filters for backwash applications. The type of filter medium is carefully chosen to suit the properties of the catalyst: particle size distribution, type, and concentration in each process. With our offering customer saves money with catalyst retention greater than 99.9% and long-lasting elements.
Secondary and Tertiary Catalyst Recovery
It is important to completely remove any residual catalyst from the reduced working solution prior to the oxidation reactor to avoid uncontrolled chemical reactions. Some of the Pall products that could be used are Ultipleat® High Flow filters and Duo-Fine® P filters. The type and grade of the filter can vary depending on the Process Licensor and the catalyst used.
Aqueous Phase Removal from Working Solution (Feedstock)
It is important to remove the aqueous phase from the recycle working solution to be used as feedstock to prevent deactivation of the catalyst in the hydrogenator. For this step in the process, we recommend Pall PhaseSep® L/L Coalescer System for removal of water.
Final Product Purification
Hydrogen Peroxide is shipped in several grades and concentrations. After distillation, the final product is filtered to ensure product quality, prior to loading into tank cars or drums for shipment. End use of the product determines the hydrogen peroxide purification and filtration level required. Some of the offering recommended are Pall Profile® UP filters, Emflon® filters and PSS® filters, providing 0.1 to 1 μm filtration to meet final product specification.
To learn more about our advanced filtration solutions, contact our team of filtration experts for more information.
For more information on improving the efficiency of your processes, contact our team of filtration experts.