Oxidation of n-olefins containing six to eight carbon atoms by molecular oxygen

Abstract

Accurate quantitative analysis of the products formed during very low-conversion liquid-phase oxidation of C₆–C₈ n-olefins, as related by an overall oxygen material balance followed by kinetic analysis, has resulted in suggested kinetic mechanisms which can be divided into three separate schemes depicting the initiation, acceleration, and steady-state regimes. Comparison of individual rate constants calculated from the suggested kinetic schemes indicate that hydrogen abstraction is generally favoured compared with addition, but the ratio declines with increasing molecular weight and increases with a shift of the double bond to a more central position in the chain.