Apparatus and method for continuous production of polyethylene glycol dinitrate

1. A reaction apparatus for producing polyethylene glycol dinitrate (PEGDN) in a continuous manner, the reaction apparatus comprising:

a series of reaction cells spatially disposed in one or more planar structures, wherein the plurality of reaction cells includes;

a feed preparation section having feedstreams for continuously providing an acid composition and a glycol composition to reaction cells thereof, wherein the acid composition includes a mixture of dilute nitric acid and concentrated sulphuric acid;

a nitration section in which the acid composition and the glycol composition react in reaction cells in a continuous manner to generate a reaction composition; and

a quench and neutralization section having a feed for a cooling arrangement for cooling reaction cells to avoid spatial reaction hotspots and thereby preventing thermal runaway occurring within the reaction apparatus, and a plurality of feeds for providing an alkaline composition to at least partially neutralize the reaction composition to cause at least a portion of the polyethylene glycol dinitrate to deposit from a solution of the reaction composition; and

a separation arrangement for extracting the deposit of polyethylene glycol dinitrate.

2. The reaction apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the acid composition includes the dilute nitric acid in a concentration range of 50-70 weight %.

3. The reaction apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the concentration of dilute nitric acid is 60 weight %.

4. The reaction apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the acid composition includes the concentrated sulphuric acid in a concentration range of 96-98 weight %.

5. The reaction apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the glycol composition includes PEG with a molecular weight in a range of from 150-800.

6. The reaction apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the reaction composition has a pH in a range of 4 to 12.

7. The reaction apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the separation arrangement separates the PEGDN and Ammonium Nitrate using a hydrophobic solvent.

8. The reaction apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the hydrophobic solvent is one of methylene chloride, a hexane, a pentane or a silicone.

9. The reaction apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feed for the cooling arrangement uses a coolant applied to a region which is spatially adjacent to the series of reaction cells.

10. The reaction apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the series of reaction cells are cooled in operation using a coolant at a temperature in a range of 0° C. to 15° C.

11. The reaction apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the acid composition includes the dilute nitric acid and the concentrated sulphuric acid in equal volumes.