Thermal effects and bifurcations in gas phase catalytic partial oxidations

Catalytic partial oxidation is an attractive technology for the production of intermediate chemicals. The highly exothermic nature of this process, high temperature of operation and very short contact time requires careful consideration of the accompanying thermal effects and the undesired catalytic or homogeneous reactions that could be triggered. It is essential to understand the various bifurcations (ignitions and extinctions) and the associated transients that could occur in any particular system as the desired points of operation may be on the intermediate branches. This review presents an overview of the bifurcations and the impact of various design and operating conditions on the yield (selectivity) to desired products in both laboratory and commercial scale reactors in which partial oxidations are carried out.