9322829 Gleaves The objective of this work is a dynamic model of alkane oxidation over vanadium-phosphorus-oxide (VPO) catalysts (also called vanadyl pyrophosphate catalysts) that explains how such components of the catalytic system as the VPO lattice, the VPO surface, surface adspecies, and gas-phase species interact to give products with or without selectivity. The model would include the mechanism of carbon-hydrogen bond activation and of oxygen addition, the mechanism of oxygen transport, and the roles of adspecies in determining selectivity. To this end, the dynamics of the partial oxidation of alkanes catalyzed by VPO are studied using a combination of transient response and in situ spectroscopic techniques. A TAP (temporal analysis of products) reactor is specially modified to permit simultaneous product analysis and in situ infrared or Raman spectroscopy. The selective conversion of light alkanes to oxygenates (alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, esters, etc.) is of great interest to the petrochemical and energy industries. Oxygenates are intermediates for production of a large array of chemicals, polymers, and plastics, and are also in great demand as gasoline additives, both to improve octane rating and to reduce tailpipe pollutants. They are often produced using VPO catalysts, usually from an olefin feedstock. However, alkanes (paraffins) are a cheaper raw material if the technology for their partial oxidation could be improved. ***
