| Abstract
| - A liquid−liquid phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) system investigated in this work consists of twoimmiscible liquid phases, n-butyl bromide (BuBr, with toluene as an organic solvent) and sodiumphenolate (NaOPh, dissolved in water), each containing a reagent. To initiate the reactionbetween reagents a phase-transfer mechanism is required, which is accomplished through theuse of a phase-transfer catalyst (PT-Cat). The PT-Cat transfers one reagent from one phase tothe other, whereupon the other reagent can react with the catalyst−reagent transient. In ourwork two types of PT-Cat, i.e., benzyltributylammonium chloride (BTAC) and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB), were used. The PTC reaction is performed in both an oscillatory baffledreactor (OBR) and a stirred tank reactor (STR). In this paper we report our experimental resultsof reaction rates in the two reactors for a range of operating conditions. Our preliminary resultsindicate that the OBR has the capability of enhancing reaction rates above those observed inthe STR.
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