CO₂ free production of ethylene oxide via liquid phase epoxidation of ethylene using niobium oxide incorporated mesoporous silica material as the catalyst

Abstract

Ethylene Oxide (EO) is an essential raw material used in various consumer products like different glycol derivatives, ethoxylates, and polymers.

Development of a chromium oxide loaded mesoporous silica as an efficient catalyst for carbon dioxide-free production of ethylene oxide

“…As we have reported 28 that PAA may play a role in the hydrolysis of EO, potentially leading to a reduction in EO selectivity. 9 Thus, epoxidation should take place at feasible lower catalyst incorporation on the support to reduce epoxide ring opening since a higher catalyst/acidity in the catalyst might lead to more breakdown of PAA and increased hydrolysis of the EO ring. 38 Furthermore, it has been well reported that water produced during the process may promote brønsted acid sites by suppressing Lewis acid sites, and these brønsted acid sites may accelerate the hydrolysis of the epoxide ring.…”

“…6 As a consequence, there is a need for more research efforts to explore alternative heterogeneous epoxidation catalysts. [7][8][9] In this pursuit, prior investigations have focused on catalysts composed of transition metals in higher oxidation states, which are supported on mesoporous silica materials (MSM), particularly MCM-41 and SBA-15. [10][11][12][13][14] It was noted that the alkene substrate underwent catalysis through a redox reaction, enabling the transfer of oxygen from the oxidant to the alkene double bond.…”

“…36 In line with the research conducted by Yan et al , and other similar research efforts, we have successfully developed a highly efficient Nb/MSM-based catalyst for EO production in our previous study. 9 In our method, we employed peracetic acid (PAA) as an oxidant instead of H 2 O 2 , 36 which yielded not only excellent efficiency but also a remarkable advantage of CO 2 -free EO production.…”

CO2‐Free Ethylene Oxide Production via Liquid‐Phase Epoxidation with Fe2O3/MSM Catalyst

“…Nonetheless, significant concerns were raised regarding metal leaching and H 2 O 2 decomposition with W‐KIT‐6 and Nb‐KIT‐6‐based catalysts [18] . In alignment with prior research efforts, we have developed a highly efficient Nb/MSM catalyst for EO production in our previous research, where peracetic acid (PAA) was used as the oxidant instead of H 2 O 2 , resulting in both superior efficiency and the notable benefit of CO 2 ‐free EO production [7a] …”

“…η o PAA andη PAA =Initial and final moles of PAA. Turn over frequency (TOF) is defined as moles of CH 3 COOOH converted per atom of Fe per time [7a] …”