title: A New Process for Maleic Anhydride Synthesis from a Renewable Building Block: The Gas-Phase Oxidehydration of Bio-1-butanol.
abstract: We investigated the synthesis of maleic anhydride by oxidehydration of a bio-alcohol, 1-butanol, as a possible alternative to the classical process of n-butane oxidation. A vanadyl pyrophosphate catalyst was used to explore the one-pot reaction, which involved two sequential steps: 1) 1-butanol dehydration to 1-butene, catalysed by acid sites, and 2) the oxidation of butenes to maleic anhydride, catalysed by redox sites. A non-negligible amount of phthalic anhydride was also formed. The effect of different experimental parameters was investigated with chemically sourced 1-butanol, and the results were then confirmed by using genuinely bio-sourced 1-butanol. In the case of bio-1-butanol, however, the purity of the product remarkably affected the yield of maleic anhydride. It was found that the reaction mechanism includes the oxidation of butenes to crotonaldehyde and the oxidation of the latter to either furan or maleic acid, both of which are transformed to produce maleic anhydride.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna (Italy).
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pavarelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna (Italy).
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Velasquez Ochoa
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna (Italy).
authors.forename: Aurora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caldarelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna (Italy).
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Puzzo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale "Toso Montanari", Università di Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento, 4, 40136 Bologna (Italy). fabrizio.cavani@unibo.it.|CIRCC, Consorzio Interuniversitario Reattività Chimica e Catalisi, Research Unit of Bologna (Italy). fabrizio.cavani@unibo.it.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cavani
authors.affiliation: Arkema, 420 Rue d'Estienne d'Orves, 92705 Colombes (France).
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Dubois
mesh_terms: D020001:1-Butanol / Q000737:chemistry*; D000475:Alkenes / Q000737:chemistry; D002384:Catalysis; D005740:Gases; D008299:Maleic Anhydrides / Q000737:chemistry*; D017968:Vanadium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000475:Alkenes; D005740:Gases; D008299:Maleic Anhydrides; D017968:Vanadium Compounds; C558934:butylene; D020001:1-Butanol
keywords: alcohols; anhydrides; oxidation; renewable resources; vanadium