The present invention discloses a system and method for efficiently synthesizing glycolide. The system includes a falling film reaction unit, which includes a falling film reactor, a gasification chamber, a circulating pump, a condenser, a collection tank, and a vacuum pump; The glycolic acid/glycolate liquid and catalyst are added to the gasification chamber through the feed pipeline, and the circulation pump is started to circulate the materials.
The glycolic acid/glycolate liquid enters the falling film reactor, where it is first dehydrated/dealcoholized to obtain glycolic acid oligomers, and then further depolymerized to obtain glycolide gas; Then the glycolide gas and unreacted liquid phase materials enter the gasification chamber for gas-liquid separation, and the liquid phase materials are re fed into the falling film reactor through a circulating pump for the next round of reaction. The gas enters the condenser for condensation and then flows into the collection tank; The vacuum pump regulates the system pressure to allow the reaction to proceed under negative pressure conditions.
The system of the present invention is used for synthesizing glycolide and has the advantages of low reaction pressure, precise temperature control, and low gas mass transfer resistance.