Synthesis of vinyl acetate from acetylene and acetic acid over Zn(Ac)₂/C

Effects of reaction temperature, molar ratio of acetylene to-acetic acid and space velocity on synthesis of vinyl acetate from acetylene and acetic acid over industrial Zn(AC)₂/C catalyst were investigated in a minisize fixed bed reactor at normal pressure. The experimental results indicated that the internal and external diffusion resistances were eliminated and the catalyst had good thermal stability and longevity under the conditions of normal pressure, catalyst particles size 0.177-0.250 mm, molar ratio of acetylene to acetic acid 2.4-6.4, space velocity 900-5000 h^-1 and reaction temperature 150-225°C. The intrinsic kinetic model was established for synthesis of vinyl acetate and the simulation results showed that the multiple correlation coefficient was 0.9621, reaction order of acetylene was 1.0, reaction order of acetic acid was -0.5, frequency factor was 0.1525 (mol^0.5 · m^1.5)/(kg · s) and activate energy was 8.767 3 ×10⁴ J/mol.