Oscillations of the Bray-Liebhafsky reaction at low flow rates in a continuous flow stirred tank reactor

The iodate-catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid is carried out in a continuous flow stirred tank reactor for various reactant concentrations and flow rates. Period-one oscillations of the iodide concentration an found. They show similar shape and dependences on inflow concentrations as the corresponding batch system. Only residence times of more than 39 min can sustain oscillations. We conclude that the lack of an overlying gas phase prevents oscillations at shorter residence times, which have been observed earlier with a different experimental setup.