Catalytica process

A similar conclusion, that the alternative pathways sometimes differ only slightly in the energy barrier, was reached in several more recent theoretical papers which investigated methane activation in ( N2 )PtCl2 systems relevant to the Catalytica process. It has been demonstrated experimentally that compared with (bipyrimidine)PtCl2,... 

Diisopropylnaphthalene (DIPN) is an important raw material for monomers for high-performance polymers. The new Catalytica process uses a mordenite with a pore size in the range of 0.6 to 0.7 nm as the catalyst for this... 

It is believed that the Catalytica process involves three steps C-H activation, oxidation, and functionalization with ligand dissociation first to form a T complex (see Fig. 12). There could be other sequence of the first two steps in a (non) dissociative way. Xu et al. [83] have examined thermodynamics of four possible reaction pathways, involving activation-after (or -before) -oxidation pathways, and dissociative versus associative pathways for both the diammine and the bpym systems. As depicted in Fig. 15, pathways 1 and 2 are activation-before-oxidation processes, while pathways 3 and 4 are activation-after-oxidation processes. Pathways 1 and 3 may be considered as associative pathways, where the departure of ligand CP is accompanied by the coordination of CEU, whereas pathways 2 and 4 are dissociative pathways, involving the formation of a T-complex as an intermediate [27]. The calculated reaction free energies are summarized in Table 5. 

A variation of the Pd/Cu Wacker-Hoechst process, termed OK Technology, has been proposed by Catalytica Associates (40—46). This process avoids the use of chlorides and uses a Pd/Cu catalyst system which incorporates a polyoxoanion and a nitrile ligand. 

Catalytica (ref. 7) have reported a recovery process based on air and catalyst. Whilst the reagent is cheap, the process requires high capital investment. It is a clean process but only treats hydrogen bromide streams and cannot treat inorganic bromide streams directly. 

DMO [Direct methane oxidation] A process for converting methane to methanol or synthetic liquid fuels. Under development by Catalytica in 1997. 

In the long run solid catalysts are expected to be used, which would reduce the safety problems of liquid-phase alkylations. However, much further work is needed to develop such processes,7 and their introduction will be costly. The startup of a pilot plant to demonstrate a solid acid catalyst alkylation technology jointly developed by Catalytica, Conoco, and Neste Oy has been announced.307... 

Catalytica A catalytic process for making methanol from methane via methyl hydrogen sulfate. Both yield and selectivity are good, but the process requires the recycle of large quantities of sulfuric acid and so has proved uneconomic and has never been operated. The catalyst is a platinum compex. If a catalyst could be devised that would make the process a hundred times faster, the process might be economic. 

Heteropolyacids can be very useful in oxidation reactions. In contrast with metal chelate catalysts that usually become oxidized and deactivated eventually, the heteropolyacids are extremely stable to oxidation. Acetaldehyde is produced commercially from ethylene by the Wacker reaction with a palladium(II) chloride catalyst, copper(II) chloride, oxygen, and water. The corrosive conditions are a disadvantage of the process. Catalytica Inc. has devised a process (6.55) that uses only 1% as much palladium and chloride as the usual process. It uses a small amount of palladium (II) chloride with a partial sodium salt of phosphomolybdovanadic acid.287... 

The author worked as a process research chemist for three years with Catalytica/DSM (Mountain View, CA) and then 2 years with Pharmacia/Pfizer (South San Francisco, CA) before joining Jacobs University (Bremen, Germany) as an assistant professor of organic chemistry in October 2003. E-mail address t.nugent jacobs-university.de. 

Cusumano, J. A., Chairman of the Board of Catalytica, Inc., Designer catalysts Hastemakers for a clean environment. Fn Proceedings of Pollution Prevention the Chemical Process Industries, April 6-7, 1992." McGraw-Hill, New York, 1992. 

Process Research versus Process Development (by Dr. Thomas C. Nugent, Catalytica, Inc.)... 

Few obligations are as pleasant to meet as my duty to thank the many people who so graciously contributed to this book. They include Captain Kevin Pitzer, Ph.D., who described the medicinal chemistry practiced at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. From the National Institutes of Health, Richard Drury and Dr. Kenneth Kirk acquainted me with chemical research in their organizations. Respectively, Frank E. Walworth and Dr. Mary Jordan from the American Chemical Society kindly reviewed passages and generously contributed salary data from surveys. Novelist Barry A. Nazarian offered gentle criticism. So did Dr. Thomas C. Nugent of Catalytica, Inc., who read the whole manuscript and drew the distinction between process research and process development that appears here over his name. 

Direct Partial Oxidation to Methanol. - The direct partial oxidation (DPO) route offers the advantage of direct conversion of methane to methanol. The oxidants include air, oxygen, and nitrous oxide. Recently, Pitchai and Klier, Gesser et al., Foster, Scurrell, and Kuo gave comprehensive reviews on this process. Catalytica Associates also discussed this subject in a client-private report. 

The oxidative coupling process was reviewed by Catalytica Associates and, to a lesser degree, by Pitchai and Klier and Kuo very brief discussions are available in articles by Scurrell and Bhasin. Several reviews on this subject have also been published recently. ... 

So far, liquid-phase activation has not produced a practical process although activation, as demonstrated by insertion of methane into various complexes, was achieved recently. Excellent reviews on methane activation using metals and metal complexes were given by Catalytica Associates, Shilov, and Gibson et al. No detailed review is given here. 

A process producing gasoline from methane in a simple step would be the ultimate in efficiency and cost, but is as yet highly speculative. 01ah °° has given evidence that this may be feasible in coupled reactors. Both BP and Catalytica have postulated such a process but no additional information is available. 

Economic Evaluation Methane to Liquid Hydrocarbon FuelsK -Evaluation studies on the above three processes to produce liquid fuels were performed by Mobil, MITRE,and Bechtel. Cost impact projections of additional potential improvements were independently estimated by Catalytica Associates. The potential for the partial oxidation route, together with an economic evaluation, was also reported by Edwards and Foster. An economic evaluation of producing gasoline and distillate fuels from methane coupling was also carried out by Union Carbide. ... 

The Japanese company Maruzen Oil Co. [50] and Catalytica Associates Co. [51] use ferric sulfate as oxidant (cocatalyst) [52] (also compare [2]) Catalytica claims a commercial process in existing Wacker two-stage plants. 

Catalytica has a patented process for methane-methanol conversion using low temperature homogeneous catalysis. Under relatively... 

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