Oxidation Vapor phase processes

Alkylthiazoles can be oxidized to nitriles in the presence of ammonia and a catalyst. For example, 4-cyanothiazole was prepared from 4-methylthiazole by a one-step vapor-phase process (94) involving reaction with a mixture of air, oxygen, and ammonia at 380 to 460°C. The catalyst was M0O3 and V Oj or M0O3, VjOj, and CoO on an alumina support. 

Liquid- and vapor-phase processes have been described the latter appear to be advantageous. Supported cadmium, zinc, or mercury salts are used as catalysts. In 1963 it was estimated that 85% of U.S. vinyl acetate capacity was based on acetylene, but it has been completely replaced since about 1982 by newer technology using oxidative addition of acetic acid to ethylene (2) (see Vinyl polymers). In western Europe production of vinyl acetate from acetylene stiU remains a significant commercial route. 

Substantial amounts of 3,3,6,8-tetramethyl-l-tetralone [5409-55-2] are also formed, most notably ia the vapor-phase process (216). This tetralone has been synthesized from isophorone and mesityl oxide and it can thus be assumed to be a product of these two materials ia the isophorone process (217,218). 

The vapor-phase process of SocifitH Chemique de la Grande Paroisse for production of nitroparaffins employs propane, nitrogen dioxide, and air as feedstocks (34). The yields of nitroparaffins based on both propane and nitrogen dioxide are relatively high. Nitric oxide produced during nitration is oxidized to nitrogen dioxide, which is adsorbed in nitric acid. Next, the nitric dioxide is stripped from the acid and recirculated. 

The predominant process for manufacture of aniline is the catalytic reduction of nitroben2ene [98-95-3] ixh. hydrogen. The reduction is carried out in the vapor phase (50—55) or Hquid phase (56—60). A fixed-bed reactor is commonly used for the vapor-phase process and the reactor is operated under pressure. A number of catalysts have been cited and include copper, copper on siHca, copper oxide, sulfides of nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, and palladium—vanadium on alumina or Htbium—aluminum spinels. Catalysts cited for the Hquid-phase processes include nickel, copper or cobalt supported on a suitable inert carrier, and palladium or platinum or their mixtures supported on carbon. 

Dehydrogenation. Before the large-scale availabiUty of acetone as a co-product of phenol (qv) in some processes, dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol to acetone (qv) was the most widely practiced production method. A wide variety of catalysts can be used in this endothermic (66.5 kj/mol (15.9 kcal/mol) at 327°C), vapor-phase process to achieve high (75—95 mol %) conversions. Operation at 300—500°C and moderate pressures (207 kPa (2.04 atm)) provides acetone in yields up to 90 mol %. The most useful catalysts contain Cu, Cr, Zn, and Ni, either alone, as oxides, or in combinations on inert supports (see Catalysts, supported) (13-16). 

Today, the air oxidation of toluene is the source of most of the world s synthetic benzaldehyde. Both vapor- and Hquid-phase air oxidation processes have been used. In the vapor-phase process, a mixture of air and toluene vapor is passed over a catalyst consisting of the oxides of uranium, molybdenum, or related metals. High temperatures and short contact times are essential to maximize yields. Small amounts of copper oxide maybe added to the catalyst mixture to reduce formation of by-product maleic anhydride. 

Monochlorohenzene is also produced in a vapor-phase process at approximately 300°C. The hy-product HCl goes into a regenerative oxychlorination reactor. The catalyst is a promoted copper oxide on a silica carrier ... 

Results of these investigations demonstrate that changes of the reactor surface can be an effective method for directing chemical reactions. Thus, developing a theory of how heterogeneous factors influence liquid-phase chain reactions is one of the important lines of advancement in this area. Only a few years ago it was thought, almost a priori, that there are practically no heterogeneous factors in liquid-phase oxidation and that liquid-phase processes differ from vapor-phase processes in this respect. 

To oxidize ethylene to acetaldehyde technically, two major approaches seem feasible (a) vapor-phase heterogeneous catalysis, and (b) liquid-phase homogeneous catalysis. The most pertinent references on the vapor-phase process are summarized in Table VI. However, neither this approach nor the electrolytic oxidation of ethylene (14) appears to have gained any commercial importance. Liquid-phase homogeneous catalysis is the approach practiced commercially, and this is understood when one talks about the Wacker process. The latter has been carried out in two principal ways ... 

Air is sufficient to oxidize the methyl groups of o-xylene, under the right conditions, like it is with p-, or w-xylene just described. However, here the similarity ends since commercial o-xylene oxidation is a vapor phase process [27]. ortf o-Xylene vapor, mixed with a large excess of air to ensure operation outside the explosive range, is fed to a reactor containing a supported vanadium pentoxide catalyst and heated to about 550°C. Using about a 0.1-second contact time under these conditions produces exit gases composed of phthalic anhydride, water, and carbon dioxide (Eq. 19.68). 

In the proposed vapor phase processes for organic acid synthesis, carbon monoxide is passed with the vaporized aliphatic alcohol over catalysts similar in nature to those employed in the pressure synthesis of higher alcohols from hydrogen-carbon monoxide mixtures. Pressures on the order of 200 atmospheres are employed. Temperatures of about 200° to 300° C. are preferred but it is necessary to use somewhat higher ones in order to obtain sufficient reaction. Mixtures of the oxides of zinc and chromium or copper, promoted with alkali or alkaline earth oxides, are suitable catalysts for the formation of carbon-carbon linkages.97 Catalysts composed of an alkali, chromium, and molybdenum have been claimed for the synthesis of mixtures of higher alcohols, aldehydes, acids, esters, etc., from carbon monoxide and vaporized aliphatic alcohols as methanol, ethanol, etc., at temperatures of about 420° C. and a pressure of 200 atmospheres.98... 

It is to be noted that in vapor phase processes such as those described by James the acids produced are aldehydic in nature and may depend upon this aldehydic character for utilization in the form of condensed products such as low grade resins, etc. Attempts to recover these acids in the form of sodium soaps usually leads to the formation of resins due to the resinify-ing action of the caustic. On the other hand, the numerous claims for the liquid phase oxidation process usually mention the formation of simple carboxylic acids or hydroxy-carboxylic acids which may be used to form edible fats by esterification with glycerol. This seems to indicate the somewhat milder oxidation possible in the liquid phase process. 

As in the case of liquid phase oxidation the lowest oxidation product to have been isolated from toluene in vapor phase processes is benzalde-liyde, which is obtained so regularly and in such quantities in the various experiments that have been performed with a great variety of catalysts, that it would seem as though the mechanism did not require atomic oxygen but occurred through the formation of a dihydroxy derivative which instantly decomposed. Thus ... 

Almost without exception, the vapor-phase processes employed in the partial oxidation of organic compounds use molecular oxygen as the oxidising agent and require catalysts and elevated temperatures for opera-... 

Completely different monomers were called for. Before long, three of today s workhorses had been identified pyrrole, aniline and thiophene. In Japan, Yamamoto [38] and in Germany, Kossmehl [39] synthesized polythiophene doped with pentafluoroarsenate. At the same time, the possibilities of electrochemical polymerization were recognized. At the IBM Lab in San Jose, Diaz used oxidative electrochemical polymerization to prepare polypyrrole [40] and polyaniline. [41] Electrochemical synthesis forms the polymer in its doped state, with the counter-ion (usually an anion) incorporated from the electrolyte. This mechanism permits the selection of a wider range of anions, including those which are not amenable to vapor-phase processes, such as perchlorate and tetra-fluoroborate. Electrochemical doping also overcomes an issue associated with dopants... 

Concerning the preparation techniques, there are different approaches from vapor or liquid phase. The critical aspects, that have to be taken into account, are the reliability of the preparation process, the quality of the nanostructures prepared and the integration into final devices. Among the most promising techniques there are catalyst assisted vapor phase transport and thermal oxidation. Vapor phase technique consists in the evaporation of the oxide powder in a furnace with controlled atmosphere. In general the pressure is lower than lOOmbar to ease the vaporization of the oxide powder and an inert gas carrier is used to facilitate the mass transport from the source to the substrates, where the vapors condense in form of nanowires. 

Alternative technological implementations of the oxidative carbonylation of methanol include the development of vapor phase processes over heterogeneous supported catalysts (27-22), such as CuClj on active carbon. 

The widely investigated Phillips catalyst, which is alkyl free, can be prepared by impregnating a silica-alumina (87 13 composition [101-103] or a silica support with an aqueous solution of Cr03). High surface supports with about 400 to 600 g/m are used [104]. After the water is removed, the powdery catalyst is fluidized and activated by a stream of dry air at temperatures of 400 to 800 °C to remove the bound water. The impregnated catalysts contain 1 to 5wt% chromium oxides. When this catalyst is heated in the presence of carbon monoxide, a more active catalyst is obtained [105]. The Phillips catalyst specifically catalyzes the polymerization of ethene to high-density polyethene. To obtain poly ethene of lower crystallinity, copolymers with known amounts of an a-olefin, usually several percent of 1-butene ean be synthesized. The polymerization can be carried out by a solution, slurry, or gas-phase (vapor phase) process. 

Since, as shown in equation (34), palladium metal is precipitated as a byproduct of the reaction, it is necessary to reoxidize it back to the Pd " " state. This is accomplished with a palladium-copper couple, as depicted in equations (35) and (36), which is driven by oxygen. The reaction is carried out by contacting a mixture of ethylene and oxygen with a mixture of acetic acid, lithium acetate, and the palladium-copper couple at temperatures of 80 to 150 °C. The vapor-phase process is carried out under pressure at high temperatures (120 to 150 °C) using a fixed-bed palladium catalyst [218]. The oxidative acylation of ethylene can also be used for the preparation of the higher vinyl esters, although it is not currently used for that purpose, due to the low demand for those materials. 

Partial oxidation is achieved at reactor conditions ranging from 1350 to 1600°C and pressures of up to 15 MPa (150 atm). This process is attractive because it allows utilization of hydrocarbon feeds that could not be handled in the more conventional vapor-phase processes, such as steam reforming. Particular disadvantages of the process (besides the need to furnish pure oxygen for POX reaetor injection) include cost and the inevitability of soot formation either via thermal cracking of the feedstock or through the Boudouard reaction (CO disproportionation). 

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