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The commercial production of hexafluoropropylene oxide, a valuable intermediate that can be converted to various high-performance materials, is often carried out via the liquid-phase oxidation of hexafluoropropylene, under high pressures and in the presence of chemical oxidizers and solvents. Due to concerns regarding process safety, scale-up and environmental impact through the generation of solvent waste, the gas-phase epoxidation of hexafluoropropylene with molecular oxygen was investigated as a possible alternative to the existing industrial methods. In this book, the preparation of hexafluoropropylene oxide via the gas-phase process is described. Optimal operating conditions for the yield and selectivity towards the epoxide are also determined. A kinetic model of the non-catalytic oxidation reaction is formulated and identified using the experimental data obtained.
About the author
David Lokhat is the head of the Reactor Technology Research Group in the School of Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. His research interests are in catalysis and reactor engineering. He obtained his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2012.
