Oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde over VSb0.8Ti0.2O4 - Effect of the operating conditions

In the present work, the kinetic toluene oxidation on VSb0.8Ti0.2O4 based c atalyst was studied. A reaction network, which involves three steps: the pa rtial oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde, a consecutive oxidation of benz aldehyde to carbon oxides and a parallel oxidation of toluene to carbon oxi des, was proposed. The kinetic parameters were estimated assuming the redox mechanism proposed by Mars and van Krevelen. The products distribution was strongly affected by the reaction temperature. The adjustment of activatio n energies for total and partial oxidation of toluene led to the same value s. The activation energy for the benzaldehyde oxidation was lower than the one for its formation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.