Reaction kinetics of ethane partial oxidation to acetic acid

Abstract

The partial oxidation of ethane to ethylene and acetic acid on supported MoVNbPd/TiO 2 (P25 of Degussa) has been investigated. Pd was added in a nano-metallic form. The catalyst composition was also different from similar studied catalysts. This results in a better selectivity towards acetic acid formation. The reaction was carried out in a tubular reactor at temperature range 225-275 °C, total pressure range 0-200 psig and oxygen percentage in the feed gas of 10-40%. The feed gas contains ethane and oxygen. In this work, we develop a kinetic model for the reaction for the developed catalyst. In this model, we assume that oxidation reactions take place on different sites; ethane oxidation takes place on one site, ethylene oxidation on another site, and CO is oxidized to CO 2 on a third site. The model exhibits good agreement with the experimental data.