In the present paper, the dehydration reaction of 2-benzoylbenzoic acid (BBA) has been investigated in the presence of different heterogeneous catalysts, based on heteropoly acids (polyoxometalates), by using, in a first approach, a batch reactor for screening the best catalysts and, in a second step, a pseudo-continuous multifunctional reactor for determining reaction yields, catalysts productivity and deactivation of the catalyst selected in the first part of the research. The pseudo-continuous reactor works also as evaporator and condenser for separating and collecting produced anthraquinone (AQ) at a high level of purity, while water continuously evaporates in the atmosphere. A productivity comparison has also been reported with respect to solid acid catalysts, i.e. Y and beta zeolites and acidified bentonite, tested previously. A kinetic model with vapour-liquid partition, liquid-phase non-ideality and catalyst deactivation, has been developed to correlate the experimental runs.