| Abstract: | Oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde, using a mixture of ferric and molybdenum oxides as catalyst, has been studied in a fixed bed integral reactor, 150 mm long, 25 mm o.d. and 10 mm i.d. The catalyst was prepared by reaction between aqueous solutions of ammonium heptamolybdate and ferric chloride. It has been shown that, under experimental conditions similar to those employed in industry, neither external nor internal diffusion had been effective in the process and isothermal conditions prevailed in both gas and solid phases. A two-step mechanism has been put forward for the oxidation of methanol. According to such a mechanism, methanol is first oxidized to formaldehyde, accepting an oxygen molecule from the catalyst and changing the latter into a reduced form. In the second step, the reduced catalyst is transformed into the original form on obtaining an oxygen molecule from the gas phase. Based on this scheme, a rate model has been derived and verified by experimental results. |
