Catalytic Selective Oxidation of Propane to Acrylic Acid in a Fixed-Bed Reactor with an O2-Distributor

Abstract

Propane selective oxidation to acrylic acid has been carried out by sequential oxidative dehydrogenation of propane and selective oxidation to acrylic acid of propylene steps in one reactor loaded with a two-catalyst bed. The propane ODH over a Ni-based oxide catalyst was active at relative low temperatures, which is near to those of the propylene SOA over a mixed metal oxides catalyst. In the combined catalytic reaction system, the propane conversion as well as the AA selectivity was correlative with the catalyst bed configurations. A novel approach to improving the acrylic acid selectivity has been presented. Based on the use of an O2-distributor, the reaction system of propane to acrylic acid could provide a ∼80% of acrylic acid selectivity and a ∼19% of propane conversion at 340 °C and C3H8/O2/N2 (mol %) = 11.0/20.9/68.1 of feed gases.