Commercial Catalytic Processes

A fermentation route to 1-butanol based on carbon monoxide employing the anaerobic bacterium, Butyribacterium methjlotrophicum has been reported (14,15). In contrast to other commercial catalytic processes for converting synthesis gas to alcohols, the new process is insensitive to sulfur contaminants. Current productivities to butanol are 1 g/L, about 10% of that required for commercial viabiUty. Researchers hope to learn enough about the bacteria s control mechanisms to be able to use recombinant DNA to make the cells produce more butanol. 

In this list, the first five processes are among the most important commercial catalytic processes in terms of total processing capacity. 

Catalysts are so important in chemical industry that combinatorial-type approaches will certainly be utilized as tools in the identification and optimization of both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts. These are, in many cases, high value-added, commercially important materials. In any research activity it makes sense to remove any choke points that impede progress. However, many engineering considerations are important in producing commercial catalytic processes thus, combinatorial-type approaches are unlikely to be a panacea. Still, a variety of unanticipated discoveries may result from various efforts that are under way. 

There are literally hundreds of commercial catalytic processes carried out for high and low volume premium products. Only a few have been selected below as examples of everyday products essential for a high quality life. Table 1 also presents listings of some of the major catalytic processes but the reader is directed to references given in this review for a more complete listing.9... 

This example from a commercial catalytic process shows that the surface and bulk states of hydrogen-containing entities can be determined under conditions close to those of the process. Information can be gained by surface spectroscopy of a catalyst as taken from the reactor with adherent mixtures of solvents and products, and monitoring of the changes in the topmost atomic layers such as the formation, transformation, or degradation of adsorbed species over time at various stages of a deactivation process. 

The overwhelmingly dominant technology in chemicaIs-reIated industries is catalysis. Commercial catalytic processes account for over half of all fuels production and for 60X of the 135 MM metric tons of organic chemicals produced annually in the U.S. In fact 20% of the nation s CNP can be attributed to catalytic processes (1). Thus, from a technical standpoint, advances in the chemicals industry are strongly linked to advances in catalysis. 

The Shell higher-alkene process was undoubtedly the first commercial catalytic process taking benefit from two-phase (but nonaqueous) liquid/liquid technology. In this special case two immiscible organic phases are used to separate the catalyst from the products formed, with the more or less pure products forming the upper phase. 

Tabic 7.1 Some commercial catalytic processes experiencing catalyst deactivation. 

Polymerization reaction was the first commercial catalytic process introduced to the petroleum industry. Ipatieff can thus be considered the father of petrochemistry. 

Studies of metals or supported metals by adsorption calorimetry are not as extensive as for metal oxides. Several reviews have been published [6,131]. Many recent studies deal with measurements of integral and differential heats of adsorption of H2, CO, O2 and hydrocarbons, because these molecules are involved in numerous commercial catalytic processes. Microcalorimetric methods provide an effective means of measuring the strengths of adsorbate-surface interactions, not only on clean metal surfaces, but also on metal surfaces that have been e osed to reaction conditions. 

Almost all commercial heterogeneous catalytic reactions are conducted with a contact time of at least several seconds. Many require much longer contact time. There are, however, a few commercial catalytic processes in which the reaction is completed in a very short time (order of milliseconds). These very fast reactions are usually affected by heat- and mass-transport resistances. They are usually carried out either on catalytic gauzes or on a reticulated structure or monolith coated with a very thin washcoat on which a catalyst is impregnated. 

Methane Ammoxidation. Ammoxidation of methane is the largest volume commercial catalytic process for the production of HCN. 

Bare SR. Methanol to olefins (MTO) development of a commercial catalytic process. In Modern meth-... 

Alkyl acyl migrations are key steps in many commercial catalytic processes involving carbon monoxide such as the hydroformylation of alkenes (p. 387) and the conversion of methanol into acetic acid (p. 385). 

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