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AbstractFormaldehyde is one of the most important intermediate chemicals and has been produced industrially since 1889. Formaldehyde is a key feedstock in several industries like resins, polymers, adhesives, and paints, making it one of the most valuable chemicals in the world. However, not many studies have been dedicated to reviewing the production of this economically important product. In this review paper, we study the leading commercial processes for formaldehyde production and compare them with recent advancements in catalysis and novel processes. This paper compares, in extensive detail, the reaction mechanisms and kinetics of water ballast process (or BASF process), methanol ballast process, and Formox process. The thermodynamics of the reactions involved in the formaldehyde production process was investigated using HSC Chemistry™ software (Outotec Oyj, Espoo, Finland). Exergy analysis was carried out for the natural gas to methanol process and the methanol ballast process for formaldehyde production. The former process was simulated using Aspen HYSYS™ and the latter using Aspen Plus™ software (Aspen technology, Burlington, MA, USA). The yield and product specifications from the simulation results closely matched with published experimental data. The exergy efficiencies of the natural gas to synthesis gas

The reverse water gas shift reaction is considered to be a highly attractive catalytic route for CO2 recycling in a future sustainable economy. Copper-based catalysts are commonly used for this reaction due to their high activity and selectivity. However, their low thermal stability is problematic for long-term usage. Here, we introduce an in situ formed surface Cu–Al spinel as a highly active and stable catalyst for the reverse water gas shift reaction. Even at high weight hourly space velocities (300 000 mL g–1 h–1), we observed no detectable deactivation after 40 h of operation. Through in situ DRIFTS and DFT studies, it was found that 2-fold coordinated copper ions and 3-fold coordinated surface oxygen atoms constitute the active sites for this reaction.

Discovery of a low temperature route to produce formaldehyde via catalytic hydrogenation of carbon monoxide in the aqueous phase.