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US 6,147,263 AGranted
Formaldehyde production
AssigneeLehigh University
InventorsIsrael E. Wachs, Chuan-Bao Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process for the catalytic conversion of methanol to formaldehyde wherein a gas stream containing methanol and oxygen is contacted with a silver catalyst in a first conversion zone containing a silver catalyst to produce an effluent containing formaldehyde, unreacted methanol, and oxidation byproducts; and contacting the first zone effluent with a copper catalyst in a second conversion zone for further conversion of the unreacted methanol. No molecular oxygen is added to the first stage effluent or to the second conversion zone.
Claims15
A process for producing formaldehyde from methanol by the steps comprising:
- contacting a feed stream containing methanol and oxygen in a first conversion zone with a catalyst containing silver to form an effluent gas containing formaldehyde, unreacted methanol and oxidation products, and
- contacting said effluent in the absence of molecular oxygen in a second conversion zone with a catalyst consisting essentially of elemental copper to produce additional formaldehyde from said unreacted methanol.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.