Butane oxidation to maleic anhydride over vanadium phosphate catalysts

Modeling of fluidized bed reactors with two reaction zones

“…These trends are in agreement with the experimental results obtained in the TZFBR and ICFBR, 2 as well as with several studies. 38 It is important to note at this point that since an intermediate catalyst oxidation state is necessary for achieving the best results, the velocity of the solid circulation will also play a key role in this reaction. The influence of the relative size of each zone for the TZFBR has also been studied; Figure 10 shows the effect of this variable on butane conversion and MA yield for a set of experiments under different n-butane partial pressures with the same catalyst weight loaded in the reactor but with different propane entry points.…”

Catalysis Research of Relevance to Carbon Management: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities

“…For example, DuPont commercialized a process for converting butane to maleic anhydride using a recirculating fluidized bed (see Figure 11). 116 The catalyst, a specially formulated vanadium pyrophosphate, is circulated from a riser reactor where it is contacted with butane to a fluidized regeneration reactor where it is then reoxidized. By this means, a maleic anhydride selectivity improvement of 10-15% is achieved in an anerobic environment versus operation in a conventional fixed bed using air.…”

Periodic operation of catalytic reactors—introduction and overview

“…Fig. 18 shows a recirculating reactor system employing a riser and a fluidized bed proposed for the partial oxidation of butane to maleic anhydride [60,61 ]. Re-oxidation of the catalyst is not a critical step to reach high maleic anhydride yields, so this step is performed in a fluidized bed.…”

“…18. Schematic of a riser reactor-fluid bed reactor recirculating solids proposal for partial oxidation under periodic operation (after Contractor et al [ 60] with permission of publisher).…”