Reduced oxide catalysts

In the 1990s and beyond 2000, there has been an explosion of interest in metal/ partially reducible oxide catalysts for low temperature water-gas shift, mainly directed at the production/purification of hydrogen in a fuel processor for fuel cell applications. 

If a catalytic cycle should be maintained, oxygen diffusion out to the surface must be complemented by an inward diffusions of surface-activated oxygen resulting from accumulation of reduced metal centers required to activate gas-phase oxygen. Not all studies mentioned here ensured in their experiments that the conditions of lattice oxygen catalysis were such as to fulfill the conditions of cyclic reversibility [34, 51, 82,131,132] as opposed to stoichiometric and irreversible reduction [133] caused by a structural phase transition. As long as complex MMO oxides are being used and the extent of reduction is kept to levels where no bulk transformation can be detected this condition can be verified [20,99,118,121,134,135], The kinetics of re-oxidation of partly reduced oxide catalysts was found to be rapid [77, 78, 80, 82] and always faster than its reduction. 

The results for the deuteration of 2-, 3-, and 4-picolines are summarized in Table IX. With 2-picoline, specific deuteration in the a-position only is observed on cobalt, whereas platinum is catalytically active for all positions,105 as is nickel chloride which catalyzes deuteration of the methyl group in particular. As with pyridine, borohydride-reduced oxide catalysts are more active than self-activated preparations. The much higher reactivity in 2-picoline compared with pyridine in selfactivation indicates that the methyl group compensates for deactivation from the nitrogen lone pair. Hydrogen for self-activation in the former compound originates predominantly from the methyl group. 

A general mechanism of the oxidative coupling of methane over reducible oxide catalysts has been proposed by Lee and Oyama. Their reaction sequence is based on the cracking mechanism suggested by Kolts and Delzer which was adapted to the methane dimerization process. The similarities between these two processes as indicated by Lee and Oyama were as follows (1) the same materials (Mn/MgO, Fe/MgO, LajOj, Ce02) are active in both reactions,... 

Figure 6 Reaction pathway for the oxidative coupling of methane on reducible oxide catalysts proposed by Lee and Oyama. ...

In addition to the wide range of metal oxide catalysts that can cany out oxidation via redox catalysis, there are a host of other materials that can carry out oxidation over non-reducible metal oxides. The oxidation mechanisms over non-reducible metal oxides are quite different and typically involve the production of free radical intermediates. The mechanisms tend to contain both heterogeneous and homogeneous activation and functionality. The oxide is used to activate a free radical process that can then proceed in the gas phase or at the surface. Li-substituted MgO and the rare earth metal oxides are two classes of materials that are considered non-reducible oxidation catalysts. Here we wiU specifically focus on the activation of alkanes over non-reducible metal oxides. 

Palladium catalysts are useful alternatives to Adams platinum oxide catalyst described in Section 111,150. The nearest equivalent to the latter is palladium chloride upon carbon and it can be stored indefinitely the palladium salt is reduced to the metal as required ... 

The vapor-phase reduction of acrolein with isopropyl alcohol in the presence of a mixed metal oxide catalyst yields aHyl alcohol in a one-pass yield of 90.4%, with a selectivity (60) to the alcohol of 96.4%. Acrolein may also be selectively reduced to yield propionaldehyde by treatment with a variety of reducing reagents. 

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 ... 

The process can be operated in two modes co-fed and redox. The co-fed mode employs addition of O2 to the methane/natural gas feed and subsequent conversion over a metal oxide catalyst. The redox mode requires the oxidant to be from the lattice oxygen of a reducible metal oxide in the reactor bed. After methane oxidation has consumed nearly all the lattice oxygen, the reduced metal oxide is reoxidized using an air stream. Both methods have processing advantages and disadvantages. In all cases, however, the process is mn to maximize production of the more desired ethylene product. 

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. 

Use of alcohol as a solvent for carbonylation with reduced Pd catalysts gives vinyl esters. A variety of acrylamides can be made through oxidative addition of carbon monoxide [630-08-0] CO, and various amines to vinyl chloride in the presence of phosphine complexes of Pd or other precious metals as catalyst (14). 

Ethylene Oxide Catalysts. Of all the factors that influence the utihty of the direct oxidation process for ethylene oxide, the catalyst used is of the greatest importance. It is for this reason that catalyst preparation and research have been considerable since the reaction was discovered. There are four basic components in commercial ethylene oxide catalysts the active catalyst metal the bulk support catalyst promoters that increase selectivity and/or activity and improve catalyst life and inhibitors or anticatalysts that suppress the formation of carbon dioxide and water without appreciably reducing the rate of formation of ethylene oxide (105). 

The oxidation catalyst (OC) operates according to the same principles described for a TWO catalyst except that the catalyst only oxides HC, CO, and H2. It does not reduce NO emissions because it operates in excess O2 environments. One concern regarding oxidation catalysts was the abiUty to oxidize sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide, because the latter then reacts with water to form a sulfuric acid mist which is emitted from the tailpipe. The SO2 emitted has the same ultimate fate in that SO2 is oxidized in the atmosphere to SO which then dissolves in water droplets as sulfuric acid. 

Branching can to some extent reduce the ability to crystallise. The frequent, but irregular, presence of side groups will interfere with the ability to pack. Branched polyethylenes, such as are made by high-pressure processes, are less crystalline and of lower density than less branched structures prepared using metal oxide catalysts. In extreme cases crystallisation could be almost completely inhibited. (Crystallisation in high-pressure polyethylenes is restricted more by the frequent short branches rather than by the occasional long branch.)... 

It is also important to point out that pure cobalt oxide, alone or finely dispersed in Si02 (i.e. Co-Si02, Co-Si02-l and Co-Si02-2 in Table 1), zeolite HY, fullerene (i.e. C q/C-,0 80/20) is at least as effective as the reduced oxides for the production of nanotubules in our experimental conditions. In fact, the catalysts studied in this work are also active if the hydrogenation step is not performed. This important point, is presently being investigated in our laboratory in order to elucidate the nature of the active catalyst (probably a metal carbide) for the production of nanotubules. 

The most successful class of active ingredient for both oxidation and reduction is that of the noble metals silver, gold, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum. Platinum and palladium readily oxidize carbon monoxide, all the hydrocarbons except methane, and the partially oxygenated organic compounds such as aldehydes and alcohols. Under reducing conditions, platinum can convert NO to N2 and to NH3. Platinum and palladium are used in small quantities as promoters for less active base metal oxide catalysts. Platinum is also a candidate for simultaneous oxidation and reduction when the oxidant/re-ductant ratio is within 1% of stoichiometry. The other four elements of the platinum family are in short supply. Ruthenium produces the least NH3 concentration in NO reduction in comparison with other catalysts, but it forms volatile toxic oxides. 

Gasoline normally contains 0.04% by weight of sulfur, which is oxidized into sulfur dioxide in the engine. Automobiles contribute about 2% of manmade sources of sulfur in the air. It has been reported recently that oxidation catalysts may accelerate the oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfates, which is a more serious respiratory hazard than sulfur dioxide. It may be necessary to reduce the sulfur in gasoline. 

Fig. 1. Examples of the kinetic curves during ethylene polymerization by chromium oxide catalysts. Support—SiOs temperature—80°C polymerization at constant ethylene pressure in perfect mixing reactor. Curve 1—catalyst reduced by CO at 300°C. Curve 2— catalyst activated in vacuum (400°C) polymerization in the case of (1) and (2) in solvent (heptane) ethylene pressure 10 kg/cm2 02 content in ethylene 1 ppm, HsO 3 ppm. Curves 3, 4, 5, 6—catalyst activated in vacuum (400°C) polymerization without solvent ethylene pressure 19 (curve 3), 13 (curve 4), 4 (curve 5), and 2 (curve 6) kg/cm2 02 content in ethylene 1 ppm, HsO = 12 ppm.

However, when using supports with weak linkage between the primary particles of the catalyst, its splitting occurs quickly and it is unlikely to influence the shape of the kinetic curve. For example, in the case of chromium oxide catalyst reduced by CO supported on aerosil-type silica, steady-state polymerization with a very short period of increasing rate is possible (see curve 1, Fig. 1). 

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