Calculation of catalytic reactors - Synthesis of phthalic anhydride

Phthalic anhydride is a product widely used in organic synthesis. This explains the large number of studies conducted on it. Various authors focus either on the catalysts used, their performance and the evolution of their activity, or on the detailed kinetic scheme, or on new reactors and their modeling. The aim of this report is to present, using the example of the controlled oxidation of o-xylene to phthalic anhydride, a methodology for studying a fixed-bed catalytic reactor. Emphasis is placed on the importance of model selection and the influence of different parameters in predicting temperature and concentration profiles.