ELECTROCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF DICHLOROACETIC ACID TO CHLOROACETIC ACID IN A MICROFLUIDIC STACK AND IN A SERIES OF MICROFLUIDIC REACTORS

Abstract

The electrochemical conversion of dichloroacetic acid to chloracetic acid was performed in three different micro devices: a simple micro fluidic cell; a microfluidic stack equipped with various electrode chambers in series and three micro fluidic cells in series. The electrochemical synthesis of chloracetic acid was performed successfully with high yields and selectivity under a single-pass mode without supporting electrolyte at low cell voltages. An increase of the productivity and of the final concentration of the target product was achieved by using a stack with two or three electrode chambers in series. The utilization of three micro reactors in series open interesting new perspectives, including the opportunity to modulate the current density among the reactors in order to optimize the figures of merit of the process. The effect of various operating parameters such as the initial concentration of dichloroacetic acid, the electrode surface, the flow rate and the current density was also investigated in detail.