Co(salen)-type [where salen = di-(salicylal)-ethylenediimine] complexes were shown to be efficient catalysts in the oxidation of 2-phenylpropane (cumene) by dioxygen primarily to 2-phenyl-2-propanol (cumyl alcohol), 2-phenylpropene (a-methylstyrene), and 1-phenylethanone (acetophenone) applying 1 H NMR spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The effect of substitution on the ligand was also monitored in both oxygen-absorption and the catalytic reaction. Based on these results, the trend observed for the production of a-methylstyrene and cumyl alcohol were parallel to dioxygen uptake by the catalyst in neat cumene, while acetophenone productions obeyed a non-linear trend. The best selectivity for the reaction in terms of acetophenone production was observed for the complex with the least oxygen-absorption feature. The intermediate of the reaction, LCo(III)-OOcumyl (where L = salen) complex, was synthesized and characterized by IR, 1 H NMR spectroscopy as well as elemental analysis, and its reactivity in the present catalytic reaction was also studied. A series of experiments were performed to propose a mechanism for the reaction on the basis of the product distributions in the reaction mixture.

In this study, mathematical modelling of oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) to C2hydrocarbons (C2H6and C2H4) over La2O3/CaO catalyst in a fixed-bed reactor operated under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions was investigated using the MATLAB program. In this process, methane and acetylene were the inputted feed and ethane, ethylene, propylene, propane, i-butane and n-butane were the output products. The amount of methane conversion obtained was 12.7% for the former feed however; if pure methane was inputted this conversion rose to 13.8%. Furthermore, the plasma process would enhance the conversion, selectivity towards desired product and process yield. A comparison between the thermal and the plasma process showed that the methane conversion and production yield in the plasma were higher than in the thermal process under the same operating conditions. Finally, the results of the catalytic OCM and methane conversion processes in the plasma phase were compared with one another.