Partial oxidation of propane in compressed carbon dioxide using CoOx/SiO2 catalysts

The application of compressed carbon dioxide as an alternative reaction medium was investigated for the heterogeneously catalysed partial oxidation of propane. The catalytic tests were performed in a stirred batch as well as in a continuous flow reactor at 553-623 K, 2.6-11.3 MPa and a CO2:synthetic air:propane molar ratio of 94-124:4-7:1 using precipitated CoOx/SiO2 (2.4-3.7 wt.% Co) catalysts. In addition, the critical temperature and pressure of the reaction mixture were determined by the opalescence method in a high-pressure optical cell. The catalytic experiments revealed a significantly higher cumulative oxygenate selectivity (i.e. acetic acid, methanol, acrolein, acetone) with increasing pressure. It is supposed that the formed oxygenates were removed more easily from the catalyst surface without being totally oxidised due to the higher solvent power of the dense CO2 in the supercritical phase. @ 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.