Metal oxide catalysts comprising various dopants are provided. The catalysts are useful as heterogenous catalysts in a variety of catalytic reactions, for example, the oxidative coupling of methane to C2 hydrocarbons such as ethane and ethylene. Related methods for use and manufacture of the same are also disclosed.

A method for producing butadiene comprises a step of obtaining a product gas containing butadiene, by feeding a raw-material gas containing straight-chain butene and an oxygen-containing gas containing molecular oxygen to a reactor and performing oxidative dehydrogenation reaction in the presence of a catalyst, wherein the catalyst comprises a composite oxide containing molybdenum and bismuth, and the concentration of hydrocarbons having 5 or more carbon atoms in the raw-material gas is 0.05 mol % to 7.0 mol %.

Provided is a process for converting an alkane to an alkene. The process comprises (a) contacting the alkane and either (i) an oxidizing electrophile comprising a main group element in oxidized form, or (ii) an oxidant and a reduced form of the oxidizing electrophile, in a liquid medium comprising an oxygen acid and optionally one or more additives selected from a non-oxidizable liquid, a salt additive, a Lewis acid, and water, to provide an oxidized intermediate and a reduced form of the oxidizing electrophile; (b) optionally separating the oxidized intermediate and the reduced form of the oxidizing electrophile; and (c) performing an elimination reaction on the oxidized intermediate to provide the alkene and the oxygen acid.

Provided is a process for oxidizing an alkene. The process comprises contacting an alkene, and either an oxidizing electrophile comprising a main group element in oxidized form or an oxidant and a reduced form of the oxidizing electrophile, in a liquid medium comprising an oxygen acid and optionally one or more additives selected from a non-oxidizable liquid, a salt additive, a Lewis acid, and water, to provide an oxygenate and a reduced form of the oxidizing electrophile. The process optionally further comprises separating the oxygenate and the reduced form of the oxidizing electrophile. The oxygenate can be further hydrolyzed to form an alcohol, diol, or polyol.

Systems and methods for the production of n-butene isomers and/or 1,3-butadiene are disclosed. The systems and method involve an oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) process for the production of n-butene isomers and 1,3-butadiene light olefins using an adjustable, multi-purpose, and multi-layer-catalyst bed for a reactor.

An object of the present invention is to suppress performance deterioration of a molybdenum composite oxide-based catalyst at the time of performing gas-phase catalytic partial oxidation with molecular oxygen by using a tubular reactor. The present invention relates to a catalytic oxidation method using a tubular reactor in which a Mo compound layer containing a Mo compound and a composite oxide catalyst layer containing a Mo composite oxide catalyst are arranged in this order from a reaction raw material supply port side and under a flow of a mixed gas containing 75 vol % of air and 25 vol % of water vapor at 440 C., a Mo sublimation amount of the Mo compound is larger than a Mo sublimation amount of the Mo composite oxide catalyst under the same conditions.

A method for preparing a mixed-metal oxide catalyst comprising molybdenum, vanadium, at least one of niobium or tantalum, and at least one of tellurium or antimony and useful for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene, the method comprising preparing a catalyst precursor, pressing the precursor into a dense pellet using a pressure of greater than about 5,000 psi, and annealing the pellet to form the mixed-metal oxide catalyst.

Disclosed is a catalyst system, its methods of preparation and its use for producing, among others, alkenes and/or saturated or unsaturated oxygenates and, which include at least one of an aldehyde and an acid (such as propyl aldehyde, acrolein, acrylic acid, isobutyl aldehyde, methacrolein, methacrylic acid), comprising subjecting the corresponding an alcohol or a diol selected from the group consisting of propanol, propanediol and isobutanol that is derivable from biomass, to a vapor phase process over the catalytic system described herein in the presence of a gas mixture of oxygen, air or nitrogen and/or other suitable diluting gas. In the case where one of 1-propanol, or 1,2-propanediol or 1,3-propanediol) or a mixture thereof is subjected to a vapor phase catalytic process over the said catalytic system in the presence of air or oxygen, and a co-fed gas, such as nitrogen or other diluting gas, the product is at least one of propylene, propyl aldehyde, acrolein and acrylic acid. In the case where isobutanol is subjected to such a process, the product is at least one of isobutylene, isobutyl aldehyde, methacrolein and methacrylic acid. The catalyst system comprises a single catalytic zone or multi-catalytic zones, in each of which the composition of the co-feed and other reaction parameter can be independently controlled.

The invention concerns a process for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane. In the process an ethane comprising stream is fed to a distillation column to remove propane. The purified ethane stream is subjected to oxidative dehydrogenation using a catalyst comprising Mo/V/Sb, or Mo/V/Nb and Te or Sb in the orthorhombic M1 crystalline phase. The reactor effluent comprises ethylene. The effluent is washed with water to remove acetic acid. The acetic acid is recovered from the aqueous stream by means of solvent extraction.

The invention relates to a process for preparing 1,3-butadiene from n-butenes, comprising the steps of: A) providing an input gas stream a comprising butanes, 1-butene, 2-butene and isobutene, with or without 1,3-butadiene, from a fluid catalytic cracking plant; B) removing isobutene from the input gas stream a, giving a stream b comprising butanes, 1-butene and 2-butene, with or without 1,3-butadiene; C) feeding the stream b comprising butanes, 1-butene and 2-butene and optionally an, oxygenous gas and optionally water vapor into at least one dehydrogenating zone and dehydrogenating 1-butene and 2-butene to 1,3-butadiene, giving a product gas stream c comprising 1,3-butadiene, butanes, 2-butene and water vapor, with or without oxygen, with low-boiling hydrocarbons, with high-boiling secondary components, with or without carbon oxides and with or without inert gases; D) cooling and compressing the product gas stream c, giving at least one aqueous condensate stream d1 and a gas stream d2 comprising 1,3-butadiene, butanes, 2-butene and water vapor, with or without oxygen, with low-boiling hydrocarbons, with or without carbon oxides and with or without inert gases; Ea) removing uncondensable and low-boiling gas constituents comprising low-boiling hydrocarbons, with or without oxygen, with or without carbon oxides and with or without inert gases, as gas stream e2 from the gas stream d2 by absorbing the C.sub.4 hydrocarbons comprising 1,3-butadiene, butanes and 2-butene in an absorbent, giving an absorbent stream laden with C.sub.4 hydrocarbons and the gas stream e2, and Eb) subsequently desorbing the C.sub.4 hydrocarbons from the laden absorbent stream, giving a C.sub.4 hydrocarbon stream e1; F) separating the C.sub.4 hydrocarbon stream e1 by extractive distillation with a 1,3-butadiene-selective solvent into a stream f1 comprising 1,3-butadiene and the selective solvent and a stream f2 comprising butanes and 2-butene, wherein at least 90% of the 1-butene present in stream b is converted in step C) and a product stream f2 comprising butanes and 2-butene is obtained in step F.