Hydrocarbon Oxidation for Manufacturing Chemicals
APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY:
Chemical manufacturing Hydrocarbon oxidation
ADVANTAGES:
Works at ambient temperature Highly selective Energy-efficient process Environmentally benign
ABSTRACT:
Heinz Frei, Fritz Blatter and Hai Sun have developed a selective thermal or photochemical oxidation procedure that favors oxidation of unsubstituted alkanes, alkenes, aromatics and cycloalkyls in solvent-free zeolites under dark thermal conditions or under irradiation with visible light. These small abundant hydrocarbons are oxidized to their corresponding carbonyl analogs. This new, energy-efficient, environmentally-sound method drives highly selective thermal oxidation and photooxidation reactions from molecular oxygen, using visible light in a zeolite medium. The process oxidizes hydrocarbons almost completely selectively without substantial production of byproducts. With this method, investigators have produced acrolein from propylene, benzalde-hyde from toluene, and cyclohexanone from cyclohexane.
Patents:US 6,329,553
Inventor(s):
Heinz Frei, Fritz Blatter and Hai Sun
Type of Offer:
Licensing
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