THE USE OF NIOBIA IN OXIDATION CATALYSIS

This paper summarises the background to work carried out at the Univer sity of Twente on the use of niobia as a catalyst for the oxidative de hydrogenation of propane to propylene and discusses the development of promoted niobia catalysts for this reaction. Results are also present ed which illustrate the use of niobia in catalysts for other reactions such as the oxidative coupling of methane, the oxidative dehydrogenat ion of ethane and the oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol. It appear s that niobia and niobia-modified catalysts, when used in high-tempera ture oxidation processes, can exhibit relatively high selectivities co mpared with more conventional catalysts.