Reaction oxides catalysts

Vibrational Spectroscopy. Infrared absorption spectra may be obtained using convention IR or FTIR instrumentation the catalyst may be present as a compressed disk, allowing transmission spectroscopy. If the surface area is high, there can be enough chemisorbed species for their spectra to be recorded. This approach is widely used to follow actual catalyzed reactions see, for example. Refs. 26 (metal oxide catalysts) and 27 (zeolitic catalysts). Diffuse reflectance infrared reflection spectroscopy (DRIFT S) may be used on films [e.g.. Ref. 28—Si02 films on Mo(llO)]. Laser Raman spectroscopy (e.g.. Refs. 29, 30) and infrared emission spectroscopy may give greater detail [31]. 

Figure Bl.25.9(a) shows the positive SIMS spectrum of a silica-supported zirconium oxide catalyst precursor, freshly prepared by a condensation reaction between zirconium ethoxide and the hydroxyl groups of the support [17]. Note the simultaneous occurrence of single ions (Ff, Si, Zr and molecular ions (SiO, SiOFf, ZrO, ZrOFf, ZrtK. Also, the isotope pattern of zirconium is clearly visible. Isotopes are important in the identification of peaks, because all peak intensity ratios must agree with the natural abundance. In addition to the peaks expected from zirconia on silica mounted on an indium foil, the spectrum in figure Bl. 25.9(a)...

Besides stmctural variety, chemical diversity has also increased. Pure silicon fonns of zeolite ZSM-5 and ZSM-11, designated silicalite-l [19] and silicahte-2 [20], have been synthesised. A number of other pure silicon analogues of zeolites, called porosils, are known [21]. Various chemical elements other than silicon or aluminium have been incoriDorated into zeolite lattice stmctures [22, 23]. Most important among those from an applications point of view are the incoriDoration of titanium, cobalt, and iron for oxidation catalysts, boron for acid strength variation, and gallium for dehydrogenation/aromatization reactions. In some cases it remains questionable, however, whether incoriDoration into the zeolite lattice stmcture has really occurred. 

Place a solution of 10 -4 g. of benzalacetophenone, m.p. 57° (Section IV,130) in 75 ml. of pure ethyl acetate (Section 11,47,15) in the reaction bottle of the catalytic hydrogenation apparatus and add 0 2 g. of Adams platinum oxide catalyst (for full experimental details, see Section 111,150). Displace the air with hydrogen, and shake the mixture with hydrogen until 0 05 mol is absorbed (10-25 minutes). Filter oflF the platinum, and remove the ethyl acetate by distillation. RecrystaUise the residual benzylacetophenone from about 12 ml. of alcohol. The yield of pure product, m.p. 73°, is 9 g. 

Hydrogenations with coppcr-chromium oxide catalyst are usually carried out in the liquid phase in stainless steel autoclaves at pressures up to 5000-6000 lb. per square inch. A solvent is not usually necessary for hydrogenation of an ester at 250° since the original ester and the alcohol or glycol produced serve as the reaction medium. However, when dealing with small quantities and also at temperatures below 200° a solvent is desirable this may be methyl alcohol, ethyi alcohol, dioxan or methylcyc/ohexane. 

This is a way to do this procedure without having to use one of those crazy tube furnaces stuffed with thorium oxide or manganous oxide catalyst [21]. The key here is to use an excess of acetic anhydride. Using even more than the amount specified will insure that the reaction proceeds in the right direction and the bad side reaction formation of dibenzylketone will be minimalized (don t ask). 18g piperonylic acid or 13.6g phenylacetic acid, 50mL acetic anhydride and 50mU pyridine are refluxed for 6 hours and the solvent removed by vacuum distillation. The remaining residue is taken up in benzene or ether, washed with 10% NaOH solution (discard the water layer), and vacuum distilled to get 8g P2P (56%). 

Compound 36 when treated by sulfur under nitrogen, leads to the thiazoline-2-thione (37) (Scheme 16) (43). Oxidation by O- or air of 36 (43) or 38 (45, 46) leads to the corresponding thiazoiine (39 or 40). Consequently, condensation reactions using catalysts like 36 must be run in strictly oxygen-free atmosphere (47-50). The isolation of traces of 3-benzyl-4-methyl-A-4-thiazoline-2-one (42) as a product of the oxidation of... 

Reactions with Ammonia and Amines. Acetaldehyde readily adds ammonia to form acetaldehyde—ammonia. Diethyl amine [109-87-7] is obtained when acetaldehyde is added to a saturated aqueous or alcohoHc solution of ammonia and the mixture is heated to 50—75°C in the presence of a nickel catalyst and hydrogen at 1.2 MPa (12 atm). Pyridine [110-86-1] and pyridine derivatives are made from paraldehyde and aqueous ammonia in the presence of a catalyst at elevated temperatures (62) acetaldehyde may also be used but the yields of pyridine are generally lower than when paraldehyde is the starting material. The vapor-phase reaction of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and ammonia at 360°C over oxide catalyst was studied a 49% yield of pyridine and picolines was obtained using an activated siHca—alumina catalyst (63). Brown polymers result when acetaldehyde reacts with ammonia or amines at a pH of 6—7 and temperature of 3—25°C (64). Primary amines and acetaldehyde condense to give Schiff bases CH2CH=NR. The Schiff base reverts to the starting materials in the presence of acids. 

The Reaction. Acrolein has been produced commercially since 1938. The first commercial processes were based on the vapor-phase condensation of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde (1). In the 1940s a series of catalyst developments based on cuprous oxide and cupric selenites led to a vapor-phase propylene oxidation route to acrolein (7,8). In 1959 Shell was the first to commercialize this propylene oxidation to acrolein process. These early propylene oxidation catalysts were capable of only low per pass propylene conversions (ca 15%) and therefore required significant recycle of unreacted propylene (9—11). 

With the maturing of the propylene oxidation catalyst area, attention in the 1980s was more focused on reaction process related improvements. 

The elimination of alcohol from P-alkoxypropionates can also be carried out by passing the alkyl P-alkoxypropionate at 200—400°C over metal phosphates, sihcates, metal oxide catalysts (99), or base-treated zeoHtes (98). In addition to the route via oxidative carbonylation of ethylene, alkyl P-alkoxypropionates can be prepared by reaction of dialkoxy methane and ketene (100). 

Formaldehyde is readily reduced to methanol by hydrogen over many metal and metal oxide catalysts. It is oxidized to formic acid or carbon dioxide and water. The Cannizzaro reaction gives formic acid and methanol. Similarly, a vapor-phase Tischenko reaction is catalyzed by copper (34) and boric acid (38) to produce methyl formate ... 

Most of the world s commercial formaldehyde is manufactured from methanol and air either by a process using a silver catalyst or one using a metal oxide catalyst. Reactor feed to the former is on the methanol-rich side of a flammable mixture and virtually complete reaction of oxygen is obtained conversely, feed to the metal oxide catalyst is lean in methanol and almost complete conversion of methanol is achieved. 

Formic acid can decompose either by dehydration, HCOOH — H2O + CO (AG° = —30.1 kJ/mol AH° = 10.5 kJ/mol) or by dehydrogenation, HCOOH H2 + CO2 (AG° = —58.6 kJ/mol AH° = —31.0 kJ/mol). The kinetics of these reactions have been extensively studied (19). In the gas phase metallic catalysts favor dehydrogenation, whereas oxide catalysts favor dehydration. Dehydration is the predominant mode of decomposition ia the Hquid phase, and is cataly2ed by strong acids. The mechanism is beheved to be as follows (19) ... 

This reaction is first conducted on a chromium-promoted iron oxide catalyst in the high temperature shift (HTS) reactor at about 370°C at the inlet. This catalyst is usually in the form of 6 x 6-mm or 9.5 x 9.5-mm tablets, SV about 4000 h . Converted gases are cooled outside of the HTS by producing steam or heating boiler feed water and are sent to the low temperature shift (LTS) converter at about 200—215°C to complete the water gas shift reaction. The LTS catalyst is a copper—zinc oxide catalyst supported on alumina. CO content of the effluent gas is usually 0.1—0.25% on a dry gas basis and has a 14°C approach to equihbrium, ie, an equihbrium temperature 14°C higher than actual, and SV about 4000 h . Operating at as low a temperature as possible is advantageous because of the more favorable equihbrium constants. The product gas from this section contains about 77% H2, 18% CO2, 0.30% CO, and 4.7% CH. ... 

Na.tura.1 Ga.s Reforma.tion. In the United States, most hydrogen is presently produced by natural gas reformation or methane—steam reforming. In this process, methane mixed with steam is typically passed over a nickel oxide catalyst at an elevated temperature. The reforming reaction is... 

Fresh butane mixed with recycled gas encounters freshly oxidized catalyst at the bottom of the transport-bed reactor and is oxidized to maleic anhydride and CO during its passage up the reactor. Catalyst densities (80 160 kg/m ) in the transport-bed reactor are substantially lower than the catalyst density in a typical fluidized-bed reactor (480 640 kg/m ) (109). The gas flow pattern in the riser is nearly plug flow which avoids the negative effect of backmixing on reaction selectivity. Reduced catalyst is separated from the reaction products by cyclones and is further stripped of products and reactants in a separate stripping vessel. The reduced catalyst is reoxidized in a separate fluidized-bed oxidizer where the exothermic heat of reaction is removed by steam cods. The rate of reoxidation of the VPO catalyst is slower than the rate of oxidation of butane, and consequently residence times are longer in the oxidizer than in the transport-bed reactor. 

MAA and MMA may also be prepared via the ammoxidation of isobutylene to give meth acrylonitrile as the key intermediate. A mixture of isobutjiene, ammonia, and air are passed over a complex mixed metal oxide catalyst at elevated temperatures to give a 70—80% yield of methacrylonitrile. Suitable catalysts often include mixtures of molybdenum, bismuth, iron, and antimony, in addition to a noble metal (131—133). The meth acrylonitrile formed may then be hydrolyzed to methacrjiamide by treatment with one equivalent of sulfuric acid. The methacrjiamide can be esterified to MMA or hydrolyzed to MAA under conditions similar to those employed in the ACH process. The relatively modest yields obtainable in the ammoxidation reaction and the generation of a considerable acid waste stream combine to make this process economically less desirable than the ACH or C-4 oxidation to methacrolein processes. 

Methanol undergoes reactions that are typical of alcohols as a chemical class (3). Dehydrogenation and oxidative dehydrogenation to formaldehyde over silver or molybdenum oxide catalysts are of particular industrial importance. 

Oxidation Catalysis. The multiple oxidation states available in molybdenum oxide species make these exceUent catalysts in oxidation reactions. The oxidation of methanol (qv) to formaldehyde (qv) is generally carried out commercially on mixed ferric molybdate—molybdenum trioxide catalysts. The oxidation of propylene (qv) to acrolein (77) and the ammoxidation of propylene to acrylonitrile (qv) (78) are each carried out over bismuth—molybdenum oxide catalyst systems. The latter (Sohio) process produces in excess of 3.6 x 10 t/yr of acrylonitrile, which finds use in the production of fibers (qv), elastomers (qv), and water-soluble polymers. 

In the Sabatier reaction, methane and water are formed over a nickel— nickel oxide catalyst at 250°C. The methane is recovered and cracked to carbon and hydrogen, which is then recycled ... 

Miscellaneous Reactions. Ahyl alcohol can be isomerized to propionaldehyde [123-38-6] in the presence of sohd acid catalyst at 200—300°C. When copper or alumina is used as the catalyst, only propionaldehyde is obtained, because of intramolecular hydrogen transfer. On the other hand, acrolein and hydrogen are produced by a zinc oxide catalyst. In this case, it is considered that propionaldehyde is obtained mainly by intermolecular hydrogen transfer between ahyl alcohol and acrolein (31). 

Isopropyl alcohol can be oxidized by reaction of an a,P-unsaturated aldehyde or ketone at high temperature over metal oxide catalysts (28). In one Shell process for the manufacture of aHyl alcohol, a vapor mixture of isopropyl alcohol and acrolein, which contains two to three moles of alcohol per mole of aldehyde, is passed over a bed of uncalcined magnesium oxide [1309-48-4] and zinc oxide [1314-13-2] at 400°C. The process yields about 77% aHyl alcohol based on acrolein. 

High pressure processes P > 150 atm) are catalyzed by copper chromite catalysts. The most widely used process, however, is the low pressure methanol process that is conducted at 503—523 K, 5—10 MPa (50—100 atm), space velocities of 20, 000-60,000 h , and H2-to-CO ratios of 3. The reaction is catalyzed by a copper—zinc oxide catalyst using promoters such as alumina (31,32). This catalyst is more easily poisoned than the older copper chromite catalysts and requites the use of sulfiir-free synthesis gas. 

Other Rea.ctlons, The anhydride of neopentanoic acid, neopentanoyl anhydride [1538-75-6] can be made by the reaction of neopentanoic acid with acetic anhydride (25). The reaction of neopentanoic acid with acetone using various catalysts, such as titanium dioxide (26) or 2irconium oxide (27), gives 3,3-dimethyl-2-butanone [75-97-8] commonly referred to as pinacolone. Other routes to pinacolone include the reaction of pivaloyl chloride [3282-30-2] with Grignard reagents (28) and the condensation of neopentanoic acid with acetic acid using a rare-earth oxide catalyst (29). Amides of neopentanoic acid can be prepared direcdy from the acid, from the acid chloride, or from esters, using primary or secondary amines. 

Rates and selectivities of soHd catalyzed reactions can also be influenced by mass transport resistance in the external fluid phase. Most reactions are not influenced by external-phase transport, but the rates of some very fast reactions, eg, ammonia oxidation, are deterrnined solely by the resistance to this transport. As the resistance to mass transport within the catalyst pores is larger than that in the external fluid phase, the effectiveness factor of a porous catalyst is expected to be less than unity whenever the external-phase mass transport resistance is significant, A practical catalyst that is used under such circumstances is the ammonia oxidation catalyst. It is a nonporous metal and consists of layers of wire woven into a mesh. 

Methanol Synthesis. Methanol has been manufactured on an industrial scale by the cataly2ed reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen since 1924. The high pressure processes, which utili2e 2inc oxide—chromium oxide catalysts, are operated above 20 MPa (200 atm) and temperatures of 300—400°C. The catalyst contains approximately 72 wt % 2inc oxide, 22 wt % chromium (II) oxide, 1 wt % carbon, and 0.1 wt % chromium (VI) the balance is materials lost on heating. 

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