Selective methane oxidation to formaldehyde using polymorphic T-, M-, and H-forms of niobium(V) oxide as catalysts

The investigations of selective methane oxidation to formaldehyde over T-Nb₂O₅, the mixture of M-Nb₂O₅ and H-Nb₂O₅ as well as H-Nb₂O₅ were carried out. The tests were conducted under atmospheric pressure, in the temperature range 420–750°C, using oxygen as the oxidizing agent. T-Nb₂O₅ samples were examined at the contact time 0.7–1.8 s (GHSV 2000–5143 h⁻¹). Other polymorphic forms of niobium(V) oxide were examined at the contact time 0.9 s. Various polymorphic forms of Nb₂O₅ displayed various formaldehyde and carbon dioxide yield. Using H-Nb₂O₅ and M-Nb₂O₅ phases with a block type structure, made it possible to obtain higher formaldehyde selectivity (78 % at 0.9 s) as compared to T-Nb₂O₅ (47 % at 0.9 s), a polymorphic form which does not have a block type structure. However, the highest space time yield of formaldehyde (46 g per kg of catalyst per h) was obtained over T-Nb₂O₅ supported on SiO₂. Presented at the 34th International Conference of the Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatranské Matliare, 21–25 May 2007.