Selective hydrocarbon oxidation using a liquid-phase catalytic membrane reactor

The room-temperature oxidation of cyclohexane and n-dodecane was studied in ;a liquid-phase membrane reactor, in which the organic substrate and aqueou s oxidant phase are separated by a catalytic membrane. The influence of the poly(dimethylsiloxane) polymer membrane thickness and the catalyst volume fraction (zeolite-encapsulated iron-phthalocyanine) on the observed reactio n rate was investigated. In the n-dodecane oxidation in a liquid phase cata lytic membrane reactor, the alcohol and ketone products are exclusively rec overed in the organic n-dodecane phase, demonstrating the possibility of th e integrated reaction and separation in one single process unit. (C) 2000 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.