Zeolite catalysts for the production of chemical commodities: BTX derivatives

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the zeolite catalysts for the production of chemical commodities. Among the synthetic fibers, polyamides are the most used together with polyesters. The former are obtained by reacting diamines (hexanediamine) with dicarboxilic acid (adipic acid) as for Nylon 6,6 or by condensation of aminocarboxylic acid (caprolactam) alone as for Nylon 6. An innovative achievement in the area of zeolite catalysis is the process for the ammoximation of cyclohexanone to cyclohexanoneoxime with the TS-1 catalyst. In this process TS-1 proved to be very efficient in the oxidation of ammonia to hydroxylammine with H 2 O 2 ; the hydroxylammine then reacts rapidly with cyclohexanone to form the desired oxime. Polyurethanes are an important class of materials with different end uses such as: flexible and rigid foam, integral skin, elastomers, coatings, adhesives, binders, and fibers. The polymerization is performed on industrial scale in a base-catalyzed reaction. A potential relevant contribution of zeolite catalysis to this industrial sector is the synthesis of propylene oxide from propylene and H 2 O 2 in the presence of TS-1 based catalyst.