Synthesis of cyclohexanone condensation products with high yield via ball mill process and the kinetic study of this process using “mean temperature method (MTM)”

Cyclohexanone is a significant organic compound. The cyclohexanone dimer is obtained from the condensation of cyclohexanone and can be used as a precursor for high-density jet fuel. This paper compares the ball mill process and oil bath magnetic stirring process for achieving the cyclohexanone self-condensation reaction using CaO as a catalyst. The conversion of cyclohexanone was 95.4 %, and the yield of the dimer was 93.5 % under ball mill process. The yield was significantly higher compared to the oil bath magnetic stirring process. To investigate the reason for the activity difference, the kinetic study of ball mill process and oil bath magnetic stirring process were carried out respectively. A new method, “mean temperature method (MTM)” was proposed to solve the problem of the temperature fluctuation during the ball mill process. The activation energy Ea by ball mill process was found to be 23.08 kJ/mol. The catalyst particle size was smaller, and the reaction was more adequate under the ball mill process. This paper introduces a novel approach for the kinetics study of catalytic reactions during ball mill process, that has not been previously explored in the literature.