Gas phase catalytic partial oxidation of toluene in a microchannel reactor

Gas phase partial oxidation of toluene over V/Ti oxide catalysts has been successfully performed in a microchannel reactor, which provides very good mass and heat transfer conditions. With the elimination of hot spots, which are known as the most negative factors for partial oxidation of hydrocarbons, steady and uniform reaction conditions can be achieved in the catalyst bed by using the microreactor. Since the best performance of the catalysts might be exploited, the selectivity of partial oxidation products of toluene has remarkably increased compared to the traditional packed fixed-bed reactor, even without the bother of modifying the catalysts, diluting the reactants or catalysts with inert contents to avoid hot spots or improve the diffusion and mixing. Furthermore, in virtue of its inherent safety features, when using pure oxygen as oxidant, the reactions were handled safely within the explosion limits in the microreactor. With TiO2 carried V2O5 as catalysts, the total selectivity of benzaldehyde and benzoic acid reaches around 60%, and the toluene conversion is about 10%. The conversion can go up without violent decline of selectivity, unlike most fixed bed reactors. Space time yield of 3.12 kg h−1 L−1 calculated on the basis of the channel volume has been achieved. The influence of operating conditions has been investigated in detail in the microreactor.