General Conclusions

Abstract

Selective oxidation using solid catalysts plays a central role in the chemical industry and, as the production cycle of many materials and commodities includes a selective oxidation process, it has also contributed significantly to modern manufacturing. More than half the products made using catalytic processes and nearly all the monomers used for the production of fibers and plastics are obtained through selective oxidation. The 1998 White Paper on Catalysis and Biocatalysis Technologies ranked catalytic selective oxidation processes or oxidative dehydrogenation first in its classification of the reactions and process innovations of greatest industrial importance for 21st-century catalysis. Selective oxidation processes thus constitute one of the central building blocks of the chemical industry, but there is still great need for innovation both in catalyst development (Chapter 3) and in the engineering of the processes, in particular in reactor design (Chapter 2).2