Trends and Outlook in Selective Oxidation

Abstract

A large segment of the modern chemical industry is based on catalytic selective oxidation processes.1–10 Indeed, more than 60% of the chemicals and intermediates synthesized via catalytic processes are products of oxidation. Rough estimates place the worth of world products that have undergone a catalytic oxidation step at $20 to $40 billion.4 Figure 1.1 shows the global share of selective oxidation processes with respect to the total organic chemical production in 1991. If one considers catalysts alone, the value of oxidation catalysts produced commercially in the United States was $105 million (in 1990), second only to polymers. Total catalytic oxidation is also becoming increasingly important as a method for destroying trace pollutants and contaminants in gaseous streams. 11,12