synthesis of dicetyl peroxydicarbonate of high assay in microreactorby using response surface methodology

Dicetyl peroxydicarbonate, as a solid peroxide, is conventionally synthesized in a two-phase batch or semi-continuous reactors and contains 6-8 wt#% impurities due to side reactions# the present study aimed to use a flow-focusing microreactor to prepare this peroxide with high yield and purity from the reaction of cetyl chloroformate and hydrogen peroxide# the clogging problem of the microreactor with solid peroxy particles was solved by selecting an appropriate reaction temperature, enabling the synthesis of dicetyl peroxydicarbonate with very high yield (ca# 100%) and assay (>99#5%) in a very short time (<45 s) and safe conditions# we also evaluated the effects of some important process and formulation parameters on reaction yield, by using response surface methodology# the flow rate in the microreactor was determined to be the most significant effect on the reaction yield# finally, the optimum values for the flow rate, surfactant concentration, and ethanol concentration were calculated as 290 µl/min, 2#6 wt#%, and 27 vol#%, respectively#