KINETIC MODELING OF THE CATALYTIC-OXIDATION OF O-XYLENE OVER AN INDUSTRIAL V2O5-TIO2 (ANATASE) CATALYST

Experiments carried out in an integral isothermal fixed-bed reactor re vealed that the selectivities of some of the products of the catalytic oxidation of o-xylene (mainly o-tolualdehyde, phthalide and phthalic anhydride) were strongly influenced by the partial pressure of oxygen. A kinetic model which accounts for the dependence of the selectivitie s on the composition of the reaction mixture (partial pressure of oxyg en and aromatic compounds) was developed and tested. The experimental observations and the predictions of the kinetic model are in excellent agreement.